To The Moon

Every startup in the electric vehicle market is gunning for Tesla. In the USA, Lucid and Rivian hope to challenge Elon Musk’s company. But the bigger threat could be from outside America, where so many of the components going into EVs come from – China. One of the leading Chinese companies mounting the challenge is XPENG. I talked to Brian Gu, President and Vice Chairman of XPENG, about the company’s strategy and aims. The flagship P7 showcases XPENG's intent as a technology-leading electric automaker. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MAGROUND GMBH “We started our operations eight years ago, so it's a relatively young company,” says Gu. “We didn’t just want to build electric vehicles. We believe that, in the long run, the mobility differentiation will come not just from energy differences, but also from intelligence. That's why when we are developing our models, we also spend a lot of effort and resources making our vehicles as smart as possible.” So far, XPENG has concentrated on the Chinese market, starting with its crossover SUV, the G3, which was updated to the G3i in 2021. The company’s second model, which has become its flagship, is the P7. This is a sports sedan in the same class as theTesla Model 3. More family oriented is the P5, launched in September 2021. Soon to arrive will be the G9, which is being seen as a direct competitor to theTesla Model Y, and the next step in the brand’s cementing of its status on the global automotive stage. In 2021, XPENG delivered over 98,000 vehicles to its customers, which is obviously small potatoes compared to Tesla’s current volume. Most of these sales were in China, and Gu claims this ranks XPENG number one amongst emerging new energy vehicle players. However, in the first half of 2022, XPENG has already delivered over 80,000 cars, implying a near-doubling of volume year-on-year. Now XPENG doesn’t want to remain focused on the local market. “We don't want to be limited just to a China market because we feel our technology should be enjoyed by consumers all over the world,” says Gu. “We always had a global presence in mind as we were building up our company, even though we're very young. For example, we have started R&D centers in North America, in Silicon Valley, in San Diego. We also have offices outside of China in Europe."$XPeng Inc.(XPEV)$