China’s Xpeng unveils EV that beats Tesla Model 3 on driving range and price

Chinese electric car maker Xpeng has unveiled the specifications and pricing for a long-range electric sports sedan that it boasts will offer significantly more driving range than the Tesla Model 3.

The Xpeng P7, the EV maker’s second production model, promises to deliver up to 706km driving range under the NEDC cycle which is also used in Australia.

While this will not translate to actual driving range – the NEDC rating is referred to tongue-in-cheek as “not even damn close” – when compared to Tesla’s rating on its Australian website for its entry-level Model 3 with 460km driving range (also NEDC), it is an impressive offering.

And so is its starting price. While it is only offered in China, it will be priced starting at RMB229,900 ($A50,150 converted) with its top of the range variant priced up to RMB349,000 ($A76,430 converted).

Xpeng will commence deliveries of the P7 at the end of June, and is offering 3 variants that can be configured with 8 different options.

The variants include an entry-level RWD long-range variant with 568km range, a RWD “super-long-range” variant with the promised 706km range from RMB254,900 ($A55,823 converted) and a dual motor, AWD high performance variants that the company says can accelerate to 100km/hr in just 4.3 seconds, priced from RMB339,000 ($A74,971 converted). All pricing includes the Chinese electric vehicle subsidy, and ranges are in NEDC.

By comparison, Tesla’s Model 3 in China currently costs from RMB241,050 for the Standard Range Plus, RMB281,550 for the Long Range and RMB357,300 for the Performance variant, all without options such as premium colours and also after subsidies have been applied.

With features like 180 degrees of vision from front, rear and side cameras, autonomous driving technology powered by Nvidi’s Drive Xavier including traffic light recognition assistance, next-gen forward-looking millimeter wave radar sensors that can detect objects through rain, fog and haze over 200 metres away, the P7 offers almost too many high-tech perks to list.

Its positioning as a Model 3 competitor is clear, with loads of design and infotainment notes such as a panoramic glass roof, a large format touchscreen atop a low profile dash, concert hall-standard 600w Dynaudio surround-sound audio added into the mix.

“Today is a milestone in the 5-year history of Xpeng Motors,” said He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xpeng in a statement about the P7.

“The P7’s launch solidifies Xpeng Motors’ leading position in China’s smart EV market. Our ability to launch the P7 in the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 crisis is a testament to the strength of our young company.”

Xpeng will also mimic Tesla’s approach to keeping its vehicles current via over-the-air (OTA) updates – a feature that has set Tesla apart but is increasingly being adopted by other car makers.

“Our philosophy of end-to-end closed-loop R&D is what sets us apart among China’s intelligent EV manufacturers,” He says. “Regular OTA upgrades will ensure that the P7 continues to grow and improve as we do.”

Xpeng’s aspirations as a serious Tesla rival may be clear as day, but the company has had other dealings with Tesla. It is currently mired in a law suit with the Californian EV pioneer after Tesla accused a company engineer named Guangzhi Cao of stealing then selling Autopilot source code to Xpeng.

According to loacl media reports, the engineer used Apple Airdrop to transfer the code before on-selling it to Xpeng. This makes the transfer difficult to trace because of Apple’s Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. Cao says that while he did download some code, he deleted it before leaving Tersla to work for Xpeng.

Whichever direction the law suit ends up taking, Xpeng is thinking big. With 113 outlets in 57 cities, it has a 73-store service network, has contracted 164 proprietary charging stations and has the added support of 200,000 third party charging spots across China.

Full performance specifications listed by Xpeng for the P7 are as follows:

• High-performance 3-in-1 electric drive system – compact, light, efficient, reliable – with world-class motor energy density of 2.0 kW/kg and an efficiency up to 97.5%.
• World’s first EV with Infineon 950 IGBT module, delivering up to 580A to motor for continuous 40s.
• German luxury sports style auto brand joint-developed chassis, optimized suspension & layout.
• Bosch / Brembo braking system, new-gen Bosch iBooster braking recycling, c.100% energy recovery, with 35m 100km/h brake distance.
• Autonomous driving system XPILOT3.0 for China’s challenging roads – 12 ultrasonic sensors, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 14 cameras – industry’s only 360° multi-perception integrated system.
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 high-performance auto chip running Xpeng Xmart OS 2.0 – world’s first intelligent full-scenario voice interactive system, integrating App stores and Alipay mini-program dual ecosystem.
• Whole-car OTA upgrade capability for in-car apps as well as ECU-controlled functions, supported by its SEPA (Smart Electric Platform Architecture).
• CATL high-density slim-profile prismatic battery pack, 110mm height, 80.9kWh with energy density reaching 170Wh/kg.
• Fast charging: from 30% to 80% charge as fast as 28 mins, 120km range in 10 mins; with China’s first remote-controlled concealed charging plug.
• 5-level safety design: Passive, battery, active, air quality and data security measures.

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