XPeng Motors has officially introduced its latest model, the G6 coupe SUV, less than a month after rolling its first new coupe SUVs off its Chinese assembly lines. With a price tag of less than $30,000, XPeng sees the G6 as a serious challenger to the Tesla Model Y and a slew of other EVs in China. The manufacturer has a lot riding on this one as it attempts to boost its recent underwhelming sales in its home nation.
The emergence of the G6 begins with XPeng Motors’ SEPA 2.0 modular EV architecture at the heart of the new SUV. The next-generation, 800 V Silicon Carbide (SiC) platform will serve as the foundation for XPeng’s EV lineup for the foreseeable future, with wheelbases ranging from 1,800 mm (70.9 inches) to 3,200 mm (126 inches) and scalable to support nearly any vehicle type, including a coupe, sedan, hatchback, wagon, SUV, multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), or even a pickup.
This past April, the platform made its formal debut beneath the G6 coupe SUV, along with astounding spec promises from its creators, including 469 miles of range and rapid charging in as little as 10 minutes.
A month later, we learned that G6 coupe SUV production had already begun in China, implying that deliveries were on the way.
By mid-June, XPeng Motors had begun accepting pre-orders for its next-generation SUV, which would be cost between RMB 200,000-300,000 ($28,500-$42,650). This resulted in over 25,000 pre-orders in the first 72 hours, indicating consumer interest in a manufacturer still trying to find its foothold in a very competitive Chinese EV industry. What’s more, pricing ended up being lower than promised – more on it below.
He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors, said today that the G6 coupe SUV had over 35,000 pre-orders as of June 28. The carmaker formally announced its new SUV in China today, revealing details and pricing for five different variants that reservation holders may expect to receive as early as July.
The XPeng G6 SUV outperforms the Tesla Model Y in terms of pricing and technology.
Earlier today, XPeng Motors held a launch ceremony in China to mark the launch of the G6 SUV before beginning deliveries begin next month. As we’ve discussed in the lead-up to today’s announcement, this EV boasts some of the most advanced technology in the industry and is XPeng’s golden goose. He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO, stated:
The XPeng G6 symbolizes our constant dedication to technological innovation and underscores our mission to lead the mobility transformation. We feel that XPeng is securely positioned as an industry trendsetter and customer satisfaction leader because to our forward-thinking technology roadmap and goal for making innovative technology accessible to the mass market.
The G6 comes standard with XPeng’s full-scenario ADAS XNGP, which the automaker touts as “the most advanced and capable in China.” The ADAS is powered by XPeng’s BEV+Transformer-based deep visual neural network, XNet, which the company claims is another first in China.
The XPeng SUV has 31 smart sensors, including two LiDARs in the front, and a total computational power of up to 508 TOPS owing to two NVIDIA DRIVE Orin-X CPUs.
With this technology in place, XPeng claims that the G6 has already achieved the pinnacle of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) before fully autonomous driving is truly realized, and is ready to handle such functions if and when they do come to fruition (and certification) in the industry.
The SUV’s front and rear integrated aluminum die-casted bodies are another first for China, according to XPeng. This design saves weight while increasing body rigidity by up to 83% over previous designs. The G6’s lighter weight also allows it to deliver up to 755 km (469 miles) of range (CLTC). The SUV’s 800 V SiC platform and 3C battery, as promised, enable for 300 km (186 miles) of range in 10 minutes on an XPeng S3/S4 DC fast charger.
The interior of the SUV is outfitted with XPeng’s latest operating system, Xmart OS 4.0, which is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and shown on a 15-inch touchscreen (seen below). It uses XPeng’s full-scenario voice assistant 2.0 to provide “GPT-like” human-machine interaction.
XPeng Motors is selling five different G6 trims with the debut, including two “Pro” variants and three “Max.” Here’s how they’re broken out.
As you can see, XPeng has definitely hit a pricing sweet spot, as even the top-tier trim of the G6 SUV converts to well under $40,000. The Tesla Model Y starts at RMB 263,900 ($36,385) and goes up to RMB 363,900 ($50,175) for the performance edition.
To that end, XPeng’s chairman stated today that the business expects the G6, which is priced around RMB 250,000, to become the top-selling electric SUV in China within two months. Because Tesla’s cheapest Model Y is priced considerably beyond that threshold, XPeng may not be directly targeting the Model Y after all, but rather undercutting the American automaker by giving more for less.
Also read: Get an Exclusive First Look at Kia EV5 $40K Electric SUV Challenging Tesla
We’ll see if XPeng Motors’ strategy pays out once official sales begin to solidify and deliveries begin in China. It’s worth noting that the G6 was originally developed with both Chinese and European five-star safety regulations in mind, and the company has confirmed that SUV deliveries to the EU will begin next year.
We’re planning a trip to China to get behind the wheel of this one, and we’ll make sure to keep you updated. Meanwhile, here’s some video of the XPeng G6 coupe SUV undergoing winter testing.
