XPeng launched into Australia In late 2024, one of a plethora of Chinese brands seeking a piece of the pie in the Australian car market. But in many ways they’re the least known of the new crop so it’s worthwhile taking a look at the Xpeng back story…

Founded in 2014 by a group of automotive and tech company executives, Xpeng is an electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Guangzhou in the Guangdong province of China. Today, the company also has offices in California and Germany.

XPeng’s first car product, the G3 SUV, was launched in China in 2018 and its P7 large sedan arrived in April 2019 before going on sale in 2020. Later, the G9 large SUV and P5 small sedan were also launched, with the GP5 notable for its impressive tech inclusions such as dual LiDAR, radar and ultrasonic sensors that formed part of the brand’s ‘XPilot3.5’ ADAS system.

G6 mid-size SUV

XPeng is notable for being an entirely privately owned business that is not only focused on EVs, but the application of AI to mobility. While it has a range of cars globally, it also develops tech, including the first AI-integrated operating systems for cars called ‘AI Tianji System XOS 5.1.0’.

The brand also developed the first comprehensive models for intelligent driving with AI (‘XNet’, ‘XPlanner’ and ‘XBrain’), the world’s first 40-core chip for AI-defined cars, robots and flying vehicles (‘Xpeng Turing’) and the AI perception sensor ‘Hawkeye Vision’. Plus, it also launched an AI humanoid robot called Iron in 2024 at its AI Day.

In 2021, XPeng launched into Norway – its first global market outside China – with the P7. So began a dramatic market expansion after the Scandinavian foray was deemed a success. XPeng is now sold in most European markets, as well as Middle Eastern states like Qatar and the UAE.

XPeng brought its new G6 mid-sized SUV in 2023 alongside a $700 million investment from the Volkswagen Group in return for a 4.99 per cent stake and collaboration on future VW EVs for the Chinese market.

Soon afterwards, XPeng acquired the autonomous driving division of Beijing-based company DiDi in exchange for US$744 million worth of shares. Part of the purchase included the aforementioned Pilot system, but also the Mona M03 five-door liftback that was developed by DiDi but became an XPeng-badged product.

XPeng also has a vast network of charging infrastructure in China, much like Tesla does, and it offers free charging to its customers. As of earlier this year, it has 772 branded super fast DC stations and 1870 free chargers.

G9 people mover

XPeng launched in Australia in late 2024 through new distributor TrueEV, and while it’s yet to disclose local sales figures, the brand has plans for more than 20 Australian dealerships by the end of 2025.

Currently, there’s only one XPeng product sold locally: the G6 mid-sized electric SUV, which competes with the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV5. The G6 is priced from $54,800 plus on-road costs and is available with either 66kWh LFP or 87.5kWh NMC batteries for up to 570km of range on the WLTP cycle.

But there are more products for Australia on the horizon, including the G9 large SUV and X9 people mover. The new P7+ is also set for an Australian debut at the Melbourne EV Show in late June.

In just 10 years, XPeng has gone from nothing to selling over 190,000 cars in China alone in 2024, selling its products in multiple global markets and developing a significant amount of in-car technology. What comes next is anybody’s guess, but its future looks bright.