By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
The Chinese company currently has four vehicles on sale, which include the G3 sports utility vehicle, a cheaper P5 sedan, its flagship P7 sedan, and a larger G9 SUV that will begin being delivered to customers in October.
Xpeng, one of China’s biggest EV manufacturers, has previewed details of two new cars set to be unveiled in 2023.
Although the company did not disclose the names as well as other details of the two new models, Brain Gu, president of Xpeng, revealed that one of the vehicles will be positioned to be a fierce competitor to Tesla’s Model Y.
The Chinese company currently has four vehicles on sale, which include the G3 sports utility vehicle, a cheaper P5 sedan, its flagship P7 sedan, and a larger G9 SUV that will begin being delivered to customers in October.
Brian Gu, also revealed that one of the vehicles will be a so-called B-class vehicle, while the other will be a C-class vehicle. The classes refer to the size of Xpeng vehicles. For context, the company’s P7 sedan is a B-class car, while the G9 SUV is a C-class vehicle.
Gu added that the B-class vehicle will debut in the first half of 2023 and is actually going to target an even larger market sector than the P7 sedan. In his words, the vehicle can be considered a ‘strong rival’ to Tesla’s Model Y midsize SUV.
The C-class product will be released later in the second half of 2023. Brian Gu also told reporters that the new models will not be sedans but declined to comment on the type of vehicle they would be.
He, however, emphasized that the B-class model will be “different” from the upcoming G9 in terms of size and price point. “So there’s minimal cannibalization from our model positioning and lineup,” Gu said.
“Given the premium and large format positioning, the number may be limited in terms of contribution. But again, it’s still going to be targeting a brand-new segment that we did not cover before,” he added.
Xpeng has increased its production rate in a bid to capture a piece of China’s fast-growing electric vehicle market and challenge leaders such as Tesla and Warren Buffett-backed BYD.
Tesla’s Model Y has been consistently one of the top-selling electric vehicles in China. However, Xpeng and rivals Nio and Li Auto are attempting to take on the American juggernaut in the world’s largest market for electric cars, which is seeing increased competition.
Xpeng’s latest announcement came after the electric car manufacturer reported a wider-than-expected loss in the second quarter of the year.