China’s XPeng confirms Aussie launch: 2024 XPeng G6 Tesla Model Y rival will be here within months
Ambitious start-up XPeng is the latest Chinese electric car company to confirm its arrival in Australia.
To be imported, distributed and retailed here by Sydney-based TrueEV, the timetable revealed this week calls for the mid-size Xpeng G6 SUV to be on-sale in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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The Tesla Model Y fighter will be followed on sale in Australia by other Xpeng models, although none have yet been named.
“XPeng is the highest quality intelligent EV that we could identify after an exhaustive search,” TrueEV CEO Jason Clarke said in a media statement.
“We are confident that XPeng’s product range and design features are ideally suited to the Australian market.
“This collaboration represents a significant leap forward in the Australian range of intelligent EVs available and will be supported with the roll out of superior charging technology and capability.”
Xpeng joins the likes of Zeekr and GAC as imminent incoming Chinese brands, while Leapmotor is expected to confirm shortly and Lynk & Co and Geely are also on the way.
Pricing for the Xpeng G6 is also yet to be confirmed, but in Europe where it has just gone on sale it undercuts the Model Y. Xpeng is also expanding into the Middle-East and Asia, as well as Europe and Australia.
The G6 launched in mid-2023 in China and is available there with single-motor and dual-motor powertrains offering three CLTC cruising ranges of 580km, 700km, and 755km.
The single-motor version produces 218kW/440Nm and the dual-motor version claims 358kW/660Nm. The dual motor claims a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.9 seconds.
It comes with an 800v electrical architecture and Xpeng claims the ability to charge its 87.5kWh ternary lithium battery pack in 19 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent and reach 300km range after 10 minutes.
And if you’re wondering what the story is with Xpeng, here’s a bit of a recap.
One of a group of ambitious China’s EV start-ups along with Nio and Li Auto, it was established as Guangzhou Chengxing Zhidong Automobile Technology Co by tech billionaire He Xiaopeng in 2015.
First production began in 2017 of the G3 compact SUV. Believe it or not the name was short for Geek3, which was the winning entry in a social media poll.
The larger P7 sedan followed in 2019, the smaller P5 and G9 large SUV in 2021 and the X9 people-mover in 2023. XPeng showed off an eVTOL flying car at the 2024 Beijing show.
It also plans to launch a new mainstream brand named Mona in co-operation with Chinese Uber-rival Didi in June.
Through the years Xpeng has attracted some heavyweight investors including Alibaba and Foxconn and went public on the New York stock exchange in 2020 and followed up with another IPO in Hong Kong in 2021.
It has gone through various financial challenges as it has developed but a recent tech-sharing deal with Volkswagen has shored it up.
And TrueEV? On its website it says its mission “is to empower customers with the knowledge, tools and support they need to embrace electronic [sic] vehicles”.
It also has an EV retailing platform, a charging and accessories arm and an emergency battery recharging service.
According to the TrueEV website ,CEO Clarke has a background in financial services and technology. Among the other key executive listed the one with the most auto industry experience appears to be director of sales Paul Young. Luxury car retailer Srecko Lorbek is an adviser.
