XPeng Inc. (XPEV) shares jumped on Tuesday after the company announced its new Mona M03 electric coupe, priced under $17,000, will begin offering models for under $17,000. This move puts XPeng in direct competition with Tesla, aiming to capture a larger share of the world’s largest electric vehicle market – China.
The base model of the Mona M03 electric coupe will be priced at 119,800 yuan ($16,812), offering a driving range of 515 kilometers (320 miles) and parking assist features, reported CNBC. A Mona M03 variant equipped with the advanced “Max” driver assist features and a 580-kilometer range will be priced at 155,800 yuan. In comparison, Tesla’s most affordable model, the Model 3, is priced at 231,900 yuan in China following an April price reduction.
While XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng did not provide a launch date for the standard version of the car in his Tuesday presentation, the company informed investors during last week’s earnings call that mass deliveries would start soon after the announcement.
The standard driver-assist for the Mona M03 includes parking assistance, such as parallel parking, utilizing a combination of automatic sensors, cameras, and LIDAR. The Max driver-assist version offers advanced features like automatically reversing a car into a designated spot on a dead-end street with a single button press. It will also support remote control for navigating narrow parking spaces, CNBC added. Deliveries for the Max version are scheduled to start after the Lunar New Year holiday in 2025, which falls between late January and early February, according to CEO He Xiaopeng.
Beyond the Mona M03, XPeng also announced on Tuesday that it will unveil its second-generation humanoid robot in October. Additionally, the company disclosed its new chip but did not specify the nanometer process or production technology used, CNBC added.
XPeng’s move to undercut Tesla’s pricing in China signifies its aggressive strategy to gain market share. The company’s focus on affordable EVs and advanced driver assistance technology is likely to attract a significant number of buyers in China’s rapidly growing electric vehicle market.
