Chinese EV Maker Xpeng Extends to Set Up Sales Store in Europe

Chinese Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturer, Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) is making good on its plans to extend its foothold internationally as it is set to open its first retail sales store in Europe. As reported by CNBC, the store will be opened in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden, an outfit that is billed to form the first self-operated store the company is bound to be tagged along with out of China.

As a key player in the EV industry, Xpeng has done quite a lot to not just maintain its grip on the Chinese market scene, it is working to gain prominence in overseas territories. While the need for electric vehicles is ingrained in every country, the demand is just picking up in some continents and besides North America and China, Europe comes off as the next ideal destination for companies like Xpeng to ply their trades.

The move into Sweden was facilitated by the signing of a deal with Bilia, a local automotive dealer capable of handling the volume from Xpeng. As the deal will see Xpeng display its vehicles in Bilia’s stores for sale, the serving of the purchased Xpeng cars will also be done in the retailer’s centers nationwide.

The expansion into Europe has become more of an aggressive target for Xpeng wishes to increase its sales numbers in the subsequent months. The European expansion was also complemented by the partnership with auto retailer Emil Frey in the Netherlands. Despite these latest partnerships, Xpeng is still on track to open its own retail store in the Netherlands near The Hague in March 2022.

“Our global journey starts from Europe, propelled by our commitment to the smart EV penetration,” He Xiaopeng, CEO of Xpeng, said in a statement.

Despite the positive news around Xpeng, the company’s shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange closed Thursday’s session down 4.44% to $38.92, a bearish turn that has trickled down into the After Hours with a 1.08% drop.

Xpeng Europe Push: A New Destination for EV Companies

The identification of Europe as the new hotspot for electric cars is coming off as a pan-industry trend. Beyond Xpeng, other major competitors are also beginning to set camp in Europe with Norway coming off as a particularly receptive destination for most brands.

Back in September last year, Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) opened a store in Oslo and began delivering its cars in the country. The Chinese manufacturing company headquartered in Shenzhen, BYD Ord Shs A (SHE: 002594) also has a customer base in Norway which it started serving last summer.

While the established EV startups are already advancing their foothold to gain a reasonable market share, many more upcoming ones are also working on their international market competitiveness across the board. From Xpeng to Nio to BYD, the goal is to take the competition to market leaders like Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) in all regions.