XPeng will launch the G9L in China at 7 p.m. on Thursday, the company said on Weibo on Monday, setting a date for the first time since the large five-seat SUV opened pre-sales on August 11 and closing the window on a package of launch incentives.
Deposit holders have three days left.
A 1,000 yuan ($149) deposit converts to 3,000 yuan ($447) off the price and unlocks free Fjord Grey paint worth 6,000 yuan, free Sahara Orange interior trim worth 3,000, 21-inch wheels at 3,000 instead of 10,000, 22-inch wheels at 6,000 instead of 12,000, and a Black Gold package at 10,000 instead of 15,000.
The wheel options are alternatives rather than additions.
Pre-sale pricing starts at 259,800 yuan ($38,700). XPeng has not said whether the launch price will match it.
A Global Car, Not a Longer G9
The G9L is a separate model rather than a variant of the G9, which is 4,891mm long and dates from 2022.
XPeng positions the G9L and the six-seat GX as a pair of flagships sharing the technical base of its 9-series, on the SEPA 3.0 architecture.
It is also the second model the company has developed for left and right-hand drive in parallel rather than converting later.
He Xiaopeng has dated the programme to about three years ago, and XPeng says the car was road-tested across 26 countries over more than 6.74 million kilometres before its debut.
The first right-hand-drive cars came off the line at the Guangzhou plant on Friday, bound for Australia. XPeng put the target at 64 countries and regions on a display board at the August debut and has used 65 in its European communications.
Europe gets a separate premiere at the Paris Motor Show, with a press day on October 12 and public days from October 13 to 18, where XPeng says it will give European specifications, powertrains, prices and timing.
The European range will include six and seven-seat versions that China does not get, because the Chinese G9L is a five-seater only, which protects the GX.
The Model
Six variants across four trim levels, Max, Ultra SE, Ultra and Ultra Flagship, in battery-electric and extended-range form.
The names carry the range: a 702km rear-drive Max, 660km all-wheel-drive Ultra SE and Ultra, a 755km all-wheel-drive Ultra Flagship and two extended-range all-wheel-drive cars at 1,602km, all on the CLTC cycle.
The extended-range version pairs a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine producing up to 110kW as a generator with a 63.3kWh battery and a 60-litre tank, for 435km of electric running. The engine never drives the wheels. Combined output is 370kW. The all-wheel-drive electric car reaches 100 km/h in 4.45 seconds and the extended-range version in 4.95.
The body measures 5,120 by 1,999 by 1,782mm on a 3,100mm wheelbase, with 1,152 litres of boot space and 230 more underfloor. Rear-wheel steering with 15 degrees of travel in both directions is standard, giving a turning radius of 5.4 metres. The design team was led by Juanma, formerly of Ferrari.
Every version runs an 800-volt architecture with 5C charging. XPeng said on Monday that measured testing added 450km of range in nine minutes at a peak of 619.6kW.
The Night After Li Auto
The launch follows Li Auto’s by a day. The i9, its own flagship electric SUV, is unveiled at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Li Xiang wrote on Weibo on Monday that the growth in flagship SUV dimensions is a passing phase that battery-electric architecture will end, saying buyers cannot feel the difference between a car two metres wide and one 2.05 metres wide but pay for it every time they park. His i9 is 5,225mm long, 105mm more than the G9L.
The Quarter XPeng Needs
XPeng delivered 39,107 vehicles in August and 243,111 in the first eight months, down 10.5% year on year. Its target for the year is 550,000 to 600,000, which would be growth of 28% to 40% on last year’s total.
Meeting the floor requires 306,889 vehicles in the final four months, an average of about 76,700 a month.
He Xiaopeng told analysts in August that monthly deliveries should exceed 60,000 in the fourth quarter. XPeng’s best month to date is 42,013, set in October last year.
The G9L is one of four things that have to work. The others are the GX, which launched in May from 279,800 yuan ($41,700), the Mona L03 rollout and an L05 due in the fourth quarter.
