XPeng to Launch New Car Next Year to Rival Tesla’s Model Y

During a telephone conference following the release of its second-quarter financial report on August 23, XPeng Motors said that it would speed up the pace of new product launches within a price range of 150,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan ($21,850 – $72,838). The Chinese EV maker will launch a B-class car and a C-class car to be matched against Tesla’s Model Y next year.

This new car was revealed by a Chinese media outlet in early August. The new car is a hatchback SUV with its front face adopting XPeng‘s iconic design, and its overall side shape is very similar to Tesla’s Model Y, which features frameless doors and hidden door handles. In addition, the new car will adopt an integrated die-cast body with an internal code of “F30,” and its size is larger than the G3 model, according to some key suppliers.

The total number of new and old models made by XPeng will reach six next year. In the second quarter of 2022, the total delivery volume of XPeng was 34,422 units, an increase of 98% compared with 17,398 vehicles in the same period of 2021.

XPeng said that the new model is different from existing models available in the market. The P7 is still the core product of XPeng, and it will be upgraded next year, ensuring its sales volume.

He Xiaopeng, the CEO of XPeng, said that the two new cars, together with the upcoming G9, are expected to promote the rapid growth of sales next year. The upcoming G9 model will adapt an 800V high-voltage SiC platform and 480kW ultra-fast charging.

The G9 and XPeng‘s subsequent new models will fully support this ultra-fast charging system. The power of the new generation of ultra-fast charging piles is four times higher than that of the current 120 kW piles, and the cost of a single pile is equal to that of XPeng‘s previous generation of charging piles.

XPeng said that its self-operated charging network will further enlarge its advantages in electrification technology, forming a systematic barrier that is difficult to replicate. At present, its ultra-fast charging system can support 200 kilometers of driving after a five-minute charge. As of the beginning of August this year, there were 1,000 self-operated charging stations produced by XPeng. By 2025, the company is expected to build another 2,000 ultra-fast charging stations.

He Xiaopeng also said that XPeng is building “barriers of intelligent technology.” The penetration rate of XPeng‘s Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) among users has reached 65%. From the second quarter this year, XPeng will provide the software and upgraded services of the intelligent assisted driving systems as standard configuration.

Recently, bionic robots have become a hot spot in the technology and automobile industries. He also mentioned that the robots developed by XPeng Robotics are also part of the XPeng ecosystem. He said that the integration of robots and automobiles will have greater effects in the future. More than a month ago, XPeng Robotics finished round-A financing of over $100 million.

SEE ALSO: XPeng Chairman Shows Quadruped Robot Developed by XPeng Robotics

In terms of the supply chain issue, He said that the chip supply challenge has indeed been alleviated this year, but there will still be slight challenges due to the massive amount of chips needed to produce a smart vehicle. In addition, he said that power brownouts in Sichuan have had little impact on XPeng‘s supply chain at present.

According to the financial report, XPeng‘s revenue in the second quarter was 7.436 billion yuan, up 97.7% year-on-year, while its net loss was 2.7 billion yuan. XPeng‘s automobile sales revenue in the second quarter was 6.938 billion yuan, an increase of 93.6% over the same period in 2021, mainly due to the increase in automobile deliveries, especially of the P7 and P5.