XPENG G6

New Chinese EV majors on space, tech, charging speed and value

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It probably won't surprise you that the creator of the car pictured here, the Xpeng G6, is something of a Far Eastern imitator of Tesla. The brand has yet to assume anything like a comparable growth path but its expansion to European markets - including, very recently, the UK - may well be another key step along the way.

Xpeng was founded in Guangzhou, China, in 2014 by former senior executives of stateowned GAC. The enthusiasm for advanced automotive technology that those two executives, Xia Heng and He Tao, put at the core of their new enterprise can be read as a reaction against the presumably conservative attitudes of their former employer.

Xpeng had US offices in Silicon Valley, California, within a few short years of its formation and was closely involved in the development of autonomous cars before its fifth birthday. It is international in its outlook and independently operated - its shares are traded on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges - and it remains committed to distinguishing its electric cars from their peers primarily via their technology.

It introduced the G6 in China in June 2023 as "an ultra-smart coupé SUV" and it's now available through newly recruited UK distributors International Motors. Based on an all-new model platform, the G6 offers several key selling points relative to rivals grouped around a price point starting at just under £40,000. These include 800V rapid charging and, according to its maker, efficiency, on-board digital technology and sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

PROS Lots of car for the money; doesn't skimp on power; standardand long-range models offered.
CONS Ought to be lighter; looks a bit like a Tesla cabaret tribute artiste.