XPeng has started shipping the L05 mid-size SUV to overseas markets, three days before the model’s official launch in China, as the carmaker leans on new SUVs to lift deliveries in the fourth quarter.
The company said on Weibo on Monday that the L05 had begun “global shipments” and would be sold in 65 countries and regions. It did not say how many vehicles were shipped, where they were headed or which powertrains each market will get.
The L05 launches in China on Wednesday at a Mona owners’ event XPeng calls “MONA WORLD.” The company opened pre-sales on October 15 at prices from 169,800 yuan ($25,500).
XPeng said it used 660 test vehicles to adapt the L05 for those markets, covering more than 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles) in 25 countries and regions.
The company says on its Chinese website that the SUV was developed to achieve five-star safety standards in China, Europe and Australia, listing C-NCAP 2024, Euro NCAP 2027 and ANCAP 2027.
However, no crash-test ratings have yet been published.
Europe and Australia
The overseas timetable is the one XPeng gave earlier this month.
Sven De Smet, Head of Brand and Marketing at XPeng Europe, said at a Paris Motor Show event on October 11 that the L05 would launch in Europe in early 2027, about three months after the smaller L03.
He did not give a European price or name markets. XPeng has also not said whether European cars will come from China or be assembled at Magna Steyr’s plant in Graz, Austria, where it builds the G6, G9 and P7+.
Vice Chairman Brian Gu said in July that the L05 would reach Australian showrooms by the first quarter of 2027.
Where the car is built and which powertrain Europe gets will determine its tariff bill. China-built XPeng EVs pay a 20.7% EU countervailing duty on top of the standard 10% import tariff, while extended-range models are not covered by those duties.
The L03 launched in Europe in July from €34,990 ($39,200) and has drawn 12,136 orders there, according to Founder and Chief Executive Officer He Xiaopeng.
Five versions in China
The L05 comes in three battery-electric and two extended-range versions, according to XPeng’s specification sheet.
The battery-electric 535 Max and the extended-range 1310 Max are both priced at 169,800 yuan. The electric 635 Max costs 179,800 yuan ($27,000), the extended-range 1310 Ultra SE 181,800 yuan ($27,300) and the electric 635 Ultra SE 191,800 yuan ($28,800).
Buyers who pay a 1,000-yuan ($100) deposit before October 29 can apply it as 3,000 yuan ($400) toward the purchase, XPeng said. Pre-sale buyers can also add 20-inch wheels for 4,000 yuan ($600), down from 6,000 yuan ($900), and the ROAM styling package for 6,999 yuan ($1,000), down from 9,999 yuan ($1,500).
He Xiaopeng described the L05 on Weibo as a large five-seat SUV with a “youthful feel,” promising an experience found in the 300,000-yuan ($45,000) class.
Bigger than the L03
The L05 is 4,870 mm (191.7 inches) long, 1,930 mm wide and 1,636 mm high, on a 2,940 mm wheelbase. That is 90 mm longer between the axles than the L03.
Luggage space runs from 702 liters to 1,913 liters with the rear seats folded, plus a 102-liter front trunk on electric versions, according to XPeng.
Every version uses a single rear motor producing 183 kilowatts. The 535 Max uses a 58.2 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery rated at 535 km (332 miles) on China’s CLTC cycle, while the 635 versions carry a 71.1 kWh pack rated at 635 km (395 miles).
The extended-range versions pair a 37.2 kWh battery with a 1.5-liter range extender, for 310 km of electric range and 1,310 km combined, on the CLTC cycle.
Max versions carry one in-house Turing AI chip with 750 TOPS and a lighter version of XPeng’s second-generation VLA driving model. Ultra SE versions get two chips with 1,500 TOPS and the full model.
The system relies on cameras and ultrasonic sensors, and XPeng’s specification sheet lists no LiDAR.
The chassis uses MacPherson struts at the front and a five-link rear, with adaptive dampers, according to XPeng’s website.
A rival from inside
The L05’s pricing puts it against two of XPeng’s own SUVs.
The G6 starts at 176,800 yuan ($26,500), according to XPeng’s website, and sits on a 2,890 mm wheelbase, 50 mm shorter than the L05’s.
Sina Tech argued in an analysis after the pre-sale that the L05 pushes the lower-cost Mona series into the core price band of XPeng’s main-brand SUVs, with the G6 and G7 its most direct rivals in the same showrooms.
The G6 and G7 keep advantages the outlet said are less visible to buyers, including an 800-volt silicon-carbide platform, front double-wishbone suspension and longer range. XPeng’s website lists three Turing chips with 2,250 TOPS on both models.
Tencent News named Leapmotor’s C11 and BYD’s Song L as the L05’s main outside competitors.
Riding on the Q4
The L05 is XPeng’s fourth new SUV since May, after the GX, the L03 and the G9L.
XPeng delivered a record 118,390 vehicles in the third quarter, but nine-month deliveries of 284,367 were still 9.2% below a year earlier.
He Xiaopeng told analysts in August that XPeng aimed to deliver more than 60,000 vehicles a month in the fourth quarter, with the G9L and the L05 as the main drivers. September’s 41,256 was the company’s best month of the year.
XPeng says the Mona series has delivered more than 350,000 vehicles in its first two years. The L03 overtook the M03 as the company’s best-selling model in August.
The L05 was developed alongside the L03 by a team led by Juanma Lopez, XPeng’s Vice President of the Design Center and a former Ferrari designer.
XPeng is expected to report third-quarter results in November.
