XPENG G9

TESTED 18.5.23, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS ON SALE SEPTEMBER (EUROPE) - Another nascent Chinese EV maker comes to Europe. Déjà vu or something new?

- JAMES ATTWOOD

You might not have heard of Xpeng, but you've doubtless heard of a firm like Xpeng a Chinese EV maker founded not long ago by a tech entrepreneur, backed by venture capital millions, aiming to stand out through tech and software and having a bold plan to rapidly expand across Europe.

Beyond a name that earns a good Scrabble score and fills an X-shaped gap in our A-Z pages, can it succeed? Well, on the basis of our first taste of the P7 saloon (see right) and the G9, its new flagship SUV and first model designed with global sales in mind, it certainly has the product to do so.

Xpeng has been quietly selling cars in Norway since 2021, but the P7 and G9 will lead a big European expansion this year, including the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. The UK is a target as well, but there's no official timeline yet.

The G9, like the P7, sits on Edward, which sounds odd until you realise that is Xpeng's slightly bizarre name for its EV platform.

The G9 is slightly bigger than the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, slightly smaller than the Tesla Model X.

The exterior has the hallmarks of a premium-focused Chinese EV, with smooth, clean lines and rounded edges that help disguise the big, boxy dimensions.