Automotive News Europe — 2024-04-11
Automotive Industry
The major Chinese EV startup partly owned by VW Group is set to expand into Germany despite anti-subsidy tariffs the EU has threatened to impose on China-made EVs.
Xpeng, a major Chinese electric-vehicle startup partly owned by Volkswagen Group, is pressing on to expand into Germany despite anti-subsidy tariffs the European Union has threatened to impose on EVs from China.
An ocean liner carrying nearly 1,000 Xpeng G9 crossovers left Shanghai for Germany on Tuesday, 9 April 2024. Xpeng said it plans to start selling the G9 and another model, the P7 sedan, in the German market in May 2024.
The G9 will be sold in Germany priced between €57,600 ($61,632) and €69,600, while the P7 will be priced from €49,600 to €69,600, according to the EV maker.
To distribute the two EV models in Germany, Xpeng said it has tapped 12 local dealers which are expected to open 24 stores initially.
It plans to introduce more products in Germany and cooperate with more local dealers to increase the number of stores marketing its EVs to 120 by the end of 2026, Xpeng added.
The company began sales in Europe in 2020 and currently sells EVs in Demark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.
It expects to launch sales in other European countries — including France, Italy and the UK — in the future, the Chinese company said.
Xpeng, established in the south China city of Guangzhou in 2014, is listed in New York and Hong Kong.
The company's EV sales increased 17% to 141,601 in 2023.
In 2023, VW Group acquired a 4.99% stake in Xpeng. The two sides also announced a plan to jointly develop two EV models which will be marketed under VW brand in China in 2026.