Chinese electric car maker Xpeng aims to launch three vehicles next year, as it ramps up development of new models to make up the ground lost to Covid-19 lockdowns in 2022.
The Guangzhou-based carmaker will unveil an upgraded version of its bestselling P7 saloon, a mid-sized sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and a minivan, or multipurpose vehicle, according to two sources with knowledge of its plans. The smart car builder released just one model, the G9 premium SUV, this year.
The aggressive plan to develop and manufacture new cars amid intensified competition comes after a strained supply chain caused the carmaker to suffer production losses in recent months.
The upgraded P7 and the mid-size SUV designed to take on Tesla’s popular Model Y will be ready for delivery to customers next year, though the MPV may take longer, the sources said.
Xpeng would not comment when contacted by the Post.
Along with Shanghai-based Nio and Beijing-headquartered Li Auto, Xpeng is viewed as China’s best response to US electric car maker Tesla in the world’s largest market for such vehicles.
But a strained supply chain caused by Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy during a resurgence in coronavirus cases in manufacturing hub Guangzhou prevented Xpeng from assembling and delivering enough vehicles to customers.
A broken logistics network during the Covid-19 outbreak also forced Xpeng to temporarily suspend work at its regional delivery centres, the company’s president Brian Gu told the Post in November.
Gu said then that about 10,000 vehicles could be delivered in December, restoring Xpeng to production levels before the outbreak in Guangzhou. The city, in the southern province of Guangdong, recorded more than 150,000 infections between October and November.
“Xpeng can target different drivers with more models,” said Chen Jinzhu, chief executive of Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “But an expanded portfolio [of vehicles] might also dilute its image as a premium EV maker.”
In May, He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of Xpeng, told an earnings results briefing that the prices of the cars would range from 150,000 yuan (US$21,527) to 400,000 yuan.
The attempt to build a minivan reflects Xpeng’s ambitions of challenging established carmakers such as General Motors.
Some 1.08 million multipurpose vehicles (MPVs) were sold in China last year, down 1 per cent from 2020. The overall automotive sector reported a 4.4 per cent growth in sales.
Though MPV is not a fast-growing segment in China, premium minivans are popular among wealthy families with two or more children.
General Motors’ Buick GL8, the bestselling premium minivan on the mainland, reported sales of 161,308 units in 2021, up 2.9 per cent on the year.
The GL8, powered by a petrol engine, is priced from 232,900 yuan (US$32,152) to 329,900 yuan.
Chinese sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – which comprise pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars – are expected to top 6 million units this year, double the number sold in 2021, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
The market is likely to continue to grow in 2023, but at a slower pace as Beijing scraps cash subsidies granted to NEV buyers.
China has largely abandoned its zero-Covid strategy, recently issuing a 10-point set of guidelines pledging to relax pandemic curbs such as mass testing, health codes and centralised quarantine requirements for most cases.
Keyword: Electric cars: China’s Xpeng eyes three new models in 2023 to get back on track after Covid-19 lockdowns dented sales