KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng is officially coming to Malaysia. This was confirmed by Bermaz Auto Berhad after the company revealed through a Bursa Malaysia filing that it has been appointed as the official distributor of XPeng in our market.
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The timing of the announcement was rather on point as it came just several days after XPeng’s co-founder and CEO, He Xiaopeng said that the company is planning to roll out right-hand drive (RHD) models in the second half of this year.
In fact, he also revealed that among the target markets for the upcoming RHD XPeng model is Malaysia. Other RHD markets that the brand is targeting include Hong Kong and Singapore.
Who is XPeng?
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XPeng was founded back in 2014 by two former senior executives of GAC Group, Henry Xia and He Tao. Joining them soon after was Xiaopeng who has made a mark in the tech industry as the co-founder of mobile Internet company UCWeb which was acquired by Alibaba Group at around the same time.
Despite being based in Guangzhou, XPeng operates several facilities outside of China including two R&D centres in the US, a competence centre in Munich, a finance centre in Hong Kong and a European headquarters in Amsterdam. The company also trade its stocks publicly on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
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XPeng even chose to unveil its first mass-production model, the G3 at CES Las Vegas in 2018. So, you can already sense that this company has a global ambition.
Last year, Volkswagen invested US$700 million (~RM3.28 billion) into XPeng in exchange for a 4.99 per cent stake in the company. Furthermore, both companies will also collaborate to produce two new Volkswagen-branded EVs that are expected to be in production sometime in 2026.
The brand currently has 7 models under its wings according to XPeng China’s website. Among those in the list is the X9 7-seater MPV which was just launched back in January.
With a starting price of 359,800 yuan (~RM234,449), this massive MPV can be obtained with up to two electric motors with a total power output of 370kW (496hp) alongside a peak torque of 640Nm. The dual-motor configuration not only provides all-wheel drive (AWD) capability to the MPV but also the ability to go from 0 to 100km/h in just 5.7 seconds and has a top speed of 200km/h.
XPang claimed that the X9 can deliver up to 702km of range although this is based on the more lenient CLTC standards. Built using 800W architecture, the company also said its electric MPV can support DC fast charging speed of up to 330kW which allows it to have up to 300km of range with just 10 minutes of charging time.
Another well-known model from XPeng’s stable is the P7, which has apparently been positioned to challenge the massively popular Tesla Model 3. The facelifted version of the fastback sedan has already been made available in selected European countries such as Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
In international markets, the EV is still being called P7 even though it is known as P7i back in China. Over at its home market, the electric sedan is available in several variants including the AWD-based option which has a CLTC-rated range of 610km.
XPeng has fitted this performance-oriented P7 variant with two electric models that produced a total output of 348kW (467hp) and 757Nm of maximum torque. This setup allowed the model to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in under 4 seconds.
Which XPeng EV could potentially come to Malaysia?
Bermaz who also handles Mazda and Kia in Malaysia did not mention any release timeline or even models that will be made available in Malaysia in its announcement today. That being said, the president of XPeng, Brian Gu has previously said that the first RHD model from the company would be its G6 crossover SUV although the international version will likely come with some updates.
With a starting price of 209,900 yuan (~RM136,790), the G6 offers a CLTC-rated range of between 580km to 755km. The variants with single motor rear-wheel drive (RWD) setup offer a maximum output of 218kW (292hp) and peak torque of 440Nm alongside 0 — 100km/h timing that is as low as 5.9 seconds.
On the other hand, the G6 with dual-motor AWD setup has a maximum power output of 358kW (480hp) together with 660Nm of peak torque. Naturally, this version also can accelerate from o to 100km/h much faster at 3.9 seconds.
While we don’t expect XPeng and Bermaz to retain that RM137k price tag if they decide to release the G6 in Malaysia, we also don’t see any reason for them to price the EV beyond RM200k either. Given the popularity of crossover SUV form factor in Malaysia, the G6 could be a great addition to the sub-RM200k EV market.
Of course, the price must be right if XPeng and Bermaz want the G6 to stand a chance going against the likes of BYD Atto 3 and Chery Omoda E5, let alone Tesla. — SoyaCincau
