Xpeng wants €74,600 for its flagship G9L in Germany. BMW wants €102,800 for an X5 50e xDrive. That gap of roughly €28,000 opened the pitch Xpeng brought to the Paris Motor Show.
BYD was not the only Chinese brand using Paris to put a big SUV in front of European buyers. Xpeng brought the G9L as both a pure battery-electric car and a range-extender. It priced both to land in territory German premium brands have long treated as their own.
Outside Germany, the sticker runs from €74,990 to €75,990 in markets including France, Austria and the Netherlands. Europe is only part of the plan. Xpeng intends to sell the G9L in 64 markets, including Australia and New Zealand.
The detail that should sting most in Munich and Ingolstadt is where the car gets built. The G9L will come from China and from Magna Steyr’s plant in Austria, one of Europe’s best-known contract manufacturers. The challenger is being assembled, in part, on the incumbents’ home soil.
The range-extender is the more interesting machine. A turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder works with electric drive and a 63-kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. That pack is bigger than what some small EVs carry as their only power source.
Xpeng quotes 577 horsepower and 513 lb-ft (695 Nm) for the EREV, with 0 to 62 mph in 5.4 seconds. The gas engine never turns the wheels. It only makes electricity, so the car drives like an EV.
Xpeng claims up to 270 miles (435 km) of electric-only range and 996 miles (1,602 km) combined. That combined figure comes from China’s CLTC cycle, which is famously generous. European buyers should wait for tougher testing before planning a road trip around it.
Software decides when the engine runs. In town, the car leans on battery power. On the highway, the engine starts as needed, while regenerative braking recovers energy along the way.
Two all-electric versions sit alongside it. Base cars get a 91.9-kWh battery, while others step up to a 110-kWh pack.
The top dual-motor electric model matches the EREV’s 577 horsepower and 513 lb-ft. It pays for that output in range, which tops out at 344 miles (553 km) on the WLTP cycle, according to Xpeng.
Charging is where Xpeng tries to win that argument back. The G9L accepts DC fast charging at up to 540 kW, and Xpeng says 10 to 80 percent takes under 12 minutes. Few rivals at any price can match that.
Inside, Xpeng is going straight after the BMW and Audi buyer. The front seats get Nappa leather with heating, ventilation and a 16-point massage. The second row, offered as a bench or captain’s chairs, gets the same leather and the same functions.
The third row has heated seats and a 50:50 split fold. A 17.3-inch central display runs infotainment, backed by an 88-inch augmented reality head-up display.
The equipment list keeps going. Dual wireless charging pads, a 26-speaker audio system, a 12.5-liter refrigerator and a 21.4-inch screen that drops from the headliner for second-row passengers are all included.
Xpeng is also bringing its latest driver-assistance suite. It includes city and highway assisted driving, navigation-based assistance and hands-free lane changes.
On paper, Xpeng has matched or beaten the established players on power, charging speed and cabin equipment. It has also undercut them by enough money to buy a decent family hatchback.
Now European buyers get to respond. So do the brands they have stuck with for decades.
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