Tags: #ev-technology #ev-autonomous-driving #new-ev-technology #ev-charging #electric-vehicles #ev-uptake #ev-sales
Held in Old Billingsgate – originally the site of a world-famous fish market – a red carpet entrance took you past a flood lit G6 (now officially on sale) and into the exquisite grand hall, where they showcased the P7+ (world’s first AI defined vehicle), G9 (world’s fastest charging EV) and eVTOL X2 flying car (by XPENG AEROHT, an XPENG subsidiary and Asia's largest eVTOL company). NOTE: There are no plans to bring XPENG’s flying cars to the UK, but in China, that's becoming a reality, having gone into production.
XPENG, is a Chinese-born high-tech company which prides itself on what they call AI defined mobility – including robots, vehicles, flying cars and their Turing chip designed to meet the demands of end-to-end large models, with the aim to achieving full autonomous driving.
Their arrival to the UK marks a key milestone in XPENG’s global journey and by the end of 2025 they are aiming to be in 60 different countries and regions. Just before Christmas XPENG celebrated the delivery of its 10,000th vehicle in Europe and it’s this market that is their core focus and long term commitment.
It’s all just numbers though, right? Well the brand says it is also focusing on building trust and it is confident that their products will resonate well with buyers. And while you may have never heard of XPENG, their launch in the UK is in partnership with International Motors Ltd (IML), which rose out of the ashes of Jensen Motor Company in 1976. Founded by Bob Edmiston out of his redundancy money which was reputed to be £6000, they became an importer and distributor and over the past 50 years introduced five brands to the UK. These include Subaru (1976), Hyundai (1981), Isuzu (1987), Ssangyong (1994) and GWM (2012), and more latterly XPENG. Bringing a trusted reputation and extensive market expertise, IML together with XPENG, plan to open 20 dealerships across the UK in 2025.
The grand finale of the event was the unveiling of their G6 – no surprises there given it’s the first model to arrive in the UK – but we were quite taken back by the price with the Standard range starting from £39,000 and Long Range from £45,890 (including a 8 year/1000k miles battery warranty and 5 year/100k miles vehicle warranty). The two rear-wheel drive versions, one with a 66kWh battery and 258PS motor, the other with an 87.5kWh battery and 288PS motor boast 270 and 354 miles of range respectively, plus 215kW and 280kW charging capability. They also unveiled the G9, a tech-laden, big luxurious seven seater, which XPENG confirmed will be introduced at some point to the UK, alongside a flagship SUV called the G9.
XPENG uses its SEPS 2.0 800v platform with best-in-class ADAS, and the integrated die-casting vehicle underbody means 161 fewer parts, which means a 17 per cent weight reduction. Aiding that, more than 300 components are integrated into one, which also gives the benefit of greater impact resistance and protection.
As well as boasting cutting-edge propriety technology, XPENG also claim that customers will be attracted to their product’s futuristic design, impressive range, ultra-fast charging, exceptional quality and an outstanding driving experience.
Electric models accounted for almost one in five car registrations in the UK during 2024, with a record 382,000 sold, making it Europe’s largest BEV market.
So, you’d think this is great news for XPENG, a brand with no ICE vehicles whatsoever in their portfolio.
But industry has gone above and beyond to try and achieve this target, with manufacturer discounting totalling more than £4.5 billion in 2024, an amount that is not sustainable in the long term. Private demand is also weak, with just one in 10 private buyers going electric last year.
So, it seems that XPENG has quite the challenge on their hands. But they believe that by prioritising residual values and brand integrity they can be successful. Furthermore IML claim that the most successful EVs will be from a company with the best hardware and software capability and that XPENG are redefining what a car company should be for the future.
China hardly has a shortage of automotive start-ups including those just focused on EVs. But most haven’t made it to the global market and in fairness, XPENG has delivered more than 620,000 EVs across the globe since 2014 (ranking top 3 BEV company in the world, and in January announced two partnerships with Volkswagen and BP Pulse, to not only create a super-fast charging network but also explore cutting-edge solutions together.
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