The Big Picture Electric vehicles have made startup companies like China’s XPeng more viable than ever.

Angus MacKenzie

The Big Picture

Deliveries of the XPeng P7, a Tesla Model 3 competitor in range and price, began in China in June 2020. It passed a reported 100,000 sales this May, and now XPeng is eyeing the U.S. market.

EVs mean everyone needs to be at the top of their game.

he most impressive new car I’ve driven so far this

Tyear? The XPeng P7. No, I’d never heard of XPeng or its P7 sedan until a few months ago, either.

To be clear, the XPeng P7 isn’t a world beater in terms of its design, performance, or powertrain technology. It’s merely an accomplished EV—quick and smooth, quiet and comfortable, handsome in the Tesla Model S fashion but with a more luxurious interior and similar levels of tech. It would be right at home right now in any American driveway, with no excuses needed. And that’s what makes the XPeng P7 so impressive. You see, the P7, which made its debut at the 2019 Shanghai auto show, is the second car from the automaker, which has only existed for eight years.

Think about that. The first Toyota sold in the U.S., the 1958 Toyopet Crown, launched eight years after Toyota resumed making cars in the aftermath of World War II and compared so poorly with American and European cars of the time that its sale was halted in 1960.

Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967, but it wasn’t until 1986, with the launch of the front-drive Excel, that it dared enter the U.S. market. Even then, the Excel’s key selling point was its low price. No one considered its product attributes—its performance, dynamics, efficiency, or quality—on par with mainstream subcompact cars.

The XPeng P7 is a graphic example of the new reality of the auto business in the EV age. In the past, as Toyota and Hyundai and others discovered, the cost and complexities of developing internal combustion engines and suitable transmissions meant newcomers faced huge challenges in terms of delivering vehicles with refined driving manners, good performance and fuel economy, and solid reliability.

EV powertrains are inherently smooth and quiet, with fewer moving parts to wear or break. There are no pesky calibration issues in terms of getting a motor to meet emission and fuel economy standards or to get it to work together with a complicated transmission. Making a vehicle that’s instantly competitive with mainstream offerings from established OEMs is therefore a lot easier than it used to be.

The XPeng P7 proves the point.

Based in Guangzhou, China, former GAC Group execs Heng Xia and Tao He founded the company in 2014. (GAC Group produces vehicles in joint ventures with Toyota, Honda, Jeep, and Mitsubishi. It also manufactures and sells vehicles in China under the Trumpchi, Aion, and Hycan brands.)

The other founding partner—and angel investor— was Xiaopeng He, founder of Chinese mobile browser company UCWeb, which was bought by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group in June 2014. He reportedly made billions from the deal but quit the Alibaba board in August 2017 to become XPeng ’s full-time chairman. XPeng is a contraction of his name. XPeng launched its first vehicle, the G3 compact SUV, in Las Vegas at CES in December 2018, and a face-lifted version, the G3i, is now on sale in China and Norway. The company’s third model, the P5, a roomy family sedan built on an extended-wheelbase version of the G3’s platform, was unveiled in September 2021.

All three XPeng vehicles feature an end-to-end software architecture developed in-house that supports a wide variety of functions, including an advanced driver assistance system that XPeng says enables Level 3-like autonomous driving capability in China.

XPeng ’s fourth model will be the G9, a larger SUV built on the P7 platform that will boast an 800-volt electrical architecture that allows ultrafast charging. There are no firm plans yet, but XPeng insiders hint the G9 may be the model chosen to launch the brand in the U.S. If it’s anything like the P7, it could be a home run.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re Toyota or Tesla or any other established manufacturer. The message sent by the XPeng P7 is crystal clear and worrying: Your next big threat could be an EV automaker no one’s heard of, making vehicles that are competitive with yours, right out of the box.

You better be ready. Q

Live fully charged. The all- elec tric Kia EV6.

The all-electric Kia EV6 can get up to 310 miles on a single charge.1 It can also charge up to 80% in 18 minutes,2 at certain commercial fast charging stations. Plus, it can hit 0–60 in 4.6 seconds.3 But it’s what you do with those things that really matter. So, get out there — like really far out there. And experience a life full of adventure. A life fully charged.

2022 EV6 Wind AWD shown. Some features may vary. 1Based on EPA estimates on a full battery charge. Actual range will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits, vehicle maintenance, charging practice, battery age, weather, temperature, and your vehicle’s condition. Battery capacity will decrease with time and use. For more information on range, please see www.fueleconomy.gov. 2 Vehicle can charge to approximately 80% range using a 350kW DC fast charger. Charging time will vary. Fast charging impacts battery durability. 3Acceleration claim based on AMCI Testing Certified results of 2022 EV6 GT-Line AWD on dry pavement ESC off. Results reported November 2021. Actual results may vary depending on options, driving conditions, driving habits, and your vehicle’s condition. Verification of these results should not be attempted. Always drive safely and obey all traffic laws.