China is packed with automotive startups. Lots are focused on EVs, but most haven’t made the jump to the global market, and many will fail before they do. One Chinese brand that is showing more international promise than most is XPENG, which launched its P7 and G9 in European markets in 2023, before introducing the G6 mid-sized SUV last year. At the time, the UK wasn’t on the list for sales. Britain is now imminent, with the G6 arriving in right-hand-drive form next month. I got to drive one of the first UK cars at an exclusive reveal ahead of the brand launch in February, and discussed the brand’s prospects with newly appointed UK Managing Director of XPENG, William Brown.
I have already given my detailed impressions about the Europa XPeng G6. The British car is particularly different, as well as driving on the right and we will only have the two versions with a rear-wheel drive, one with a 66kWh battery and a 258ps engine, the other with an 87. 5kWh and 285ps battery. But those cars, respectively, have 270 and 354 miles of WLTP range, plus 215 kW and 280 kW (thanks to the 800V architecture), so the G6 offers long-distance driving potential. It is also complete in generation and obviously emulates the Tesla Model Y, while also being so in price.
The Xpeng technique began to bear fruit in Europe. The company’s sales were good in the EU countries it has entered so far (Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Spain), with 10,000 cars sold in 2024. Not exactly Tesla figures, but a useful base. However, while Xpeng has its own distribution in its EU markets in the UK, the corporate will rely on specialists at Motors International, which also sells GWM in Britain.
“There is a transparent vision for Xpeng to be a long -term mobility leader,” says Brown. “Now we are in the EV Domain, but it will lead to things like autonomous cars, and then who knows where that could lead from there. This is a domain in which we are consistent in the world. The other region, when you compare us with Other new Chinese participants in the United Kingdom market is that we ourselves be the EV Premium logo , to begin with, our goal is to be the opposite number one to the Chinese logos, and then we move to the European domain later.
The EU that puts costs on imported Chinese EVs, but not in the UK so far, Britain may be a larger market for Chinese automakers, specifically in addition to other driving market plates that are closer to China, in particular Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, and even India. In fact, one-third of the countries around the world use the right-hand workforce. “We realize that it is more complicated in Europe now,” says Brown. “It’s less complicated from a MarketPlaceplace law standpoint like Australia, so that’s where you see a lot of the Chinese products on the right. They go there first in the market market.
XPENG hasn’t announced UK pricing for the G6 yet. However, Brown says: “The pricing is going to be equivalent, relatively speaking, to European prices. It’s going to be a lot cheaper than the European premium brands. It’s going to be competitive with cars like the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 – semi premium products.”
However, this is not the value of the list, and Brown sees safe points that restrict expectations due to the mandate of the zero emission of the United Kingdom, which forces brands to sell a percentage of BEV (28% by 2025). “Our car will probably be under the premium cars of Stellantis, for example, a vision of the list, but where it probably will not be so reasonable, it is a payment per month,” he says. “The explanation why it is that maximum of those inherited logo is now looking to play those Zev goals, so they have a too ambitious list, but they will be very small to download sales, while Xpeng does not have a ZEV goal because we are One hundred percent EV, so we do not have to reduce our path to download our sales volume.
Xpeng will announce its costs in the United Kingdom during the occasion of official launch on February 11, after which consumers can explain their interest in delivery in March or April. Sales will be exclusively thanks to a classical concession model. “We deserve to make sure that our first distributors open in March,” Brown said. “We are looking to name around twenty distributors this year. We are not going to look for massive volume numbers. Our purpose is to identify the brand, meet everyone to know what Xpeng is. The first adopters, other people who are really in their generation and know electric vehicles, will be the ones who will buy first. Then, although the market begins to normalize, with greater infrastructure, we would possibly be obtaining a type of incentive for the government at a given time in the future, then we will have an intelligent base to come to the company. »
XPENG intends to bring its premium X9 electric MPV to the UK next. Photographer: Qilai … [+] Shen/Bloomberg
The logo will possibly take into account more specialized showrooms in the future, such as Polestar. “We’re going to get to that kind of store,” Brown says. “But at the moment, we just won the G6. We’ve had a flagship style coming at the end of this year or early next year, which is the MPV. This will really make other people perceive our premium goals. We expect that this could also be a bit detrimental in terms of crossover with the SUV market. It is a seven-seater.
The MPV Brown Speaks is called X9. MPVs are popular in China. The Geely Zeekr brand introduced a luxury family deputy in Auto China in 2024. There will be an updated edition of the XPEG G9 SUV that was introduced in Europe in 2023 through the end of 2026, along with a few other vehicles, with a fifth styling joining the lineup in 2027. But Xpeng will see G6 sales pass first.
“There might be a resurgence of interest in the UK if some good MPV EVs come to market,” says Brown. “The X9 will help with the brand message that we’re leaders in technology. The technology story with XPENG is a little bit different. They are so forward thinking. For example, flying cars are a bit mythical, and it’s probably going to be a long time before we see anything like that in the UK. But in China, that’s becoming a reality. The XPENG flying cars have gone into production. They go on sale in 2026, and they’ve got thousands of orders. That’s how far forward they are.”
The sky’s the limit for XPENG, with flying cars already on sale in China.
“XPENG has got three flying cars in China,” says Brown. “They’ve got the X2, which works but won’t go into production. They use it at shows. They’ve got the Land Craft Carrier, which has gone into production. That’s a six-wheeler vehicle with a drone in the back that comes out of the rear. That’s on sale now in China. Then they’ve another flying vehicle that looks like a super car. It’s got wings that come out the top. That’s being tested now, then hopefully in production by 2030. They’re not just talking the talk. They’re following through.”
There are currently no plans to bring XPENG’s flying cars to the UK, but it shows the boldness of XPENG’s ambitions. “The UK is a tough marketplace to be launching an EV vehicle when you’ve got so much pressure to reach targets,” says Brown. “But we are really excited about it because we feel that the XPENG product proposition is so strong where things matter the most, like battery performance. The G6 excels in terms of charging speed and real-world mileage, and the way the vehicle technology works. We’re keen to keep making sure the vehicle is constantly updated with over-the-air updates. We want feedback from users. As the EV market evolves, this is going to be one of the brightest stars for the future in terms of premium EVs, but we appreciate it’s going to take some time, which is why we want to be careful with our launch to market.”
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