Xpeng is breaking out of a less price range with its expensive car

September 23, 2022:-Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng has released its most expensive car, marking the company’s foray into a higher price range.

Shares of the automaker briefly decreased by over 15% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, Xpeng announced its recent car, the G9 SUV, will be priced from 309,900 yuan to 469,000 yuan. Deliveries are set to begin in China in October, the company added.

The price range makes Xpeng’s recent car generally cheaper than new SUV offerings this fall from Nio and Li Auto. Nio’s ES7 is selling for 468,000 yuan to 548,000 yuan, while Li Auto’s Li 9 lists a price of 459,800 yuan.

The G9 is cheaper than Tesla’s Model Y, a mid-sized SUV that starts at 316,900 yuan. However, Xpeng’s previous cars have been priced much lower.

The company’s best-seller, the P7 sedan, costs between 239,900 yuan and 387,900 yuan, which depends on the driving range. The company’s different sedan, the P5, can be bought for as low as 179,900 yuan.

Xpeng’s original SUV, now only available as an upgraded model called G3i, runs from 181,900 yuan to 201,900 yuan.

For comparison, with sedans, Nio’s sells for 328,000 yuan to 536,000 yuan. Tesla’s Model 3 starts at 279,900 yuan following applicable subsidies.

BYD, the dominant local leader in China’s electric car market, is selling in an even lower price range. After subsidies, the company’s popular Han sedan runs from 214,800 yuan to 329,800 yuan.

According to the China Passenger Car Association, BYD’s Qin, Han, and Dolphin cars made the top five best-selling recent energy passenger cars in China for the first eight months of the year. That list didn’t include SUVs.

The association data showed that Tesla’s Model 3 ranked sixth, while Xpeng’s P7 ranked 10th.

One of Xpeng’s sales points has been its assisted-driving software. This week, the company announced it is rolling out the recent version of the software, which covers urban situations and highways to some users in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

In addition to assisted-driving software, the G9 features rapid battery charging and what Xpeng is calling “an immersive 5D experience” within the car for watching movies and listening to music. The company is claiming that after it revealed that in-car experience in August, it received over 20,000 pre-orders for the G9 in the initial 24 hours of reservations.