Xpeng G7 Poses New Threat To Tesla In China
China is the world’s largest new-car market, and that rising tide has lifted the EV ship. But Tesla faces tough competition from Chinese EV brands, and one of those brands just unveiled a new model that could be particularly troublesome for the U.S. automaker.
Revealed Thursday, the Xpeng G7 is an electric crossover SUV close in size to the Tesla Model Y but, according to Electrek, costing significantly less in its home market. Xpeng confirmed a base price of 195,800 yuan ($27,325 at current exchange rates), while the Model Y currently starts at 313,500 yuan ($36,770) in China, the website notes.
Two Battery Packs, Quick Charging
Two lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery options are available. A 68.5-kilowatt-hour pack in the base Max trim level will offer an estimated 374 miles of range, as measured on China’s lenient CLTC testing cycle. A longer-range Max grade with an 80.8-kWh provides an estimated 436 miles at a starting price of 205,800 yuan ($28,720). Finally, a top Ultra grade will be available at 225,800 yuan ($31,510).
So far Xpeng has only confirmed a single-motor rear-wheel drive powertrain with 292 horsepower, which the automaker estimates will get the G7 from zero to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. Helping the G7 cut through the air as it reaches that speed is a 0.238 drag coefficient, slightly lower than the Model Y’s 0.230 but still fairly sleek. An adaptive suspension system will use AI to automatically adjust to road conditions in milliseconds, Xpeng claims.
Xpeng also claims the ability to recover up to 271 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability can discharge up to 6 kilowatts of power to run electrical devices.
High-Tech Interior
Xpeng
Inside, the five-seat G7 features a 15.6-inch central touchscreen and 87-inch augmented-reality head-up display developed in partnership with phone maker Huawei. Second-row passengers get their own 8-inch touchscreen climate control, and wireless phone charging is included in both rows, with a pair of 50-watt chargers up front.
Xpeng quoted 28.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, which is nearly the same as the Model Y. Folding those seats yields a claimed 80.4 cubic feet—nine more than the Tesla. The G7’s 1.4-cubic-foot frunk is much smaller than the Model Y’s, but there’s also a 4.2-cubic-foot compartment under the rear trunk floor.
Ultra models are equipped with a pair of powerful Turing AI chips that Xpeng claims will enable Level 3 autonomous-driving capability, scheduled to be added in December via an over-the-air update that’s waiting on regulatory approval.
Chinese Automakers Continue To Flex Their Muscles
Xpeng
Reservations for the G7 are now open, with Xpeng claiming 10,000 pre-orders in the first 46 minutes. That’s much less than the 200,000 pre-orders the Xiaomi YU7—another Model Y-sized SUV unveiled just last week—attracted in just three minutes, but it’s still not good news for Tesla.
The G7 and YU7 are just the latest of numerous Chinese EVs that are pushing aside foreign brands in their home market. Chinese brands are also starting to make inroads in Europe, where Tesla sales have been declining for five months straight. The current political climate means the Xpeng G7—or any other Chinese EV—is unlikely to be sold in the United States, but Tesla could be in trouble everywhere else.
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