On 4 September 2023, at IAA Mobility in Munich, XPENG announced that the brand would officially enter Germany in 2024 with the P7 and the G9. The German website went live the same day. It says 2024 and no more: no month, no price, no dealer network, no store.
What XPENG chose to put beside that announcement is the interesting part. The Volkswagen Group deal, signed in July, sits in the same text, described as a long-term strategic partnership to explore opportunities. No money, no models, no timeline. And then there is the measurement from NAF’s El-Prix in June: the G9 peaked at 319 kW, and the G9 and P7 took the top two places in the range test at 13 and 10 per cent above their WLTP figures.
Together that is the case XPENG wanted to make to German buyers: a heavyweight German partner and an independent European test result, put behind a date. Brian Gu, vice chairman and co-president, said it plainly: XPENG is entering one of the most competitive car markets in the world, with customers who expect the highest standards.
The year in the subordinate clause
The release says “after three years of operations in Europe”. So XPENG dates its European start to 2020. The company has also used 2021 for the same beginning, and both are defensible. It depends on whether you count the G3 in Norway or the real push with the P7.
The release also notes that the international version of the G9 has started shipping to Europe.
What came of it
Germany opened in 2024 and has since become one of XPENG’s larger European markets. Which versions German buyers actually pick is a story of its own. The markets page has the countries, and the XPENG G9 page has the car that led the entry.
Images: XPENG
Sources
XPENG: Germany to open in 2024, announced at IAA Mobility · 4 September 2023