- The Xpeng G7 has launched in China, where it undercuts the Tesla Model Y by around $9,500.
- It’s a bigger vehicle with more toys and far superior charging, more in tune with local buyers’ tastes.
- Xiaomi doesn’t offer a dual-motor all-wheel drive variant, and it has less range, but it still represents extremely good value.
Newcomer Xpeng, known for its sleek designs and technology that’s good enough to get the Volkswagen Group’s attention, is on a roll with its new model launches. And the latest addition to its roster is the G7, a Tesla Model Y rival with very keen pricing and excellent specs.
The G7 has the same wheelbase as the G6 Model Y lookalike, but it is longer overall and it’s meant to slot in between the G6 and G9 in the Xpeng SUV lineup.
The Xpeng G6 is the direct Model Y rival, but the marginally larger G7 will undoubtedly do its part to steer buyers away from the Tesla, especially since it’s considerably cheaper. Even though it’s larger, it starts at 195,800 yuan, or around $27,300, while the base rear-wheel drive Model Y is 263,500 yuan, or roughly $36,750.
That’s a difference of almost $9,500, which is going to be very compelling to Chinese buyers, who are already moving away from buying foreign brands and preferring to buy local.
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Source: Xpeng
Even though it’s larger and has a visibly longer rear overhang, the G7 has less trunk room than the Model Y, although it does trump the Tesla when both vehicles have their rear seats folded flat. Up front, there’s a single 15.6-inch infotainment screen and rear occupants are treated to an 8-inch screen, as well as heated, cooled and massaging seats. This used to be reserved for the most luxurious and expensive of cars, but now we see this level of rear seat comfort in a midsize crossover.
The G7 gets a single 292 horsepower rear motor with 332 pound-feet (450 Nm) of torque. There’s no dual-motor all-wheel drive option, but you do get a choice of batteries. The Long Battery Life Max variant has a claimed CLTC range of 374 miles (602 kilometers), while the Ultra-Long Battery Life Max version bumps that up to 436 miles (702 km).
That’s less than what the Model Y offers in China, especially after the recent range increase, but the G7 claws back points with its much faster charging. While the Tesla peaks at 250 kilowatts of charging power, the Xpeng is rated at up to 451 kW, allowing it to add a claimed 271 miles (436 km) of range in 10 minutes. It takes 12 minutes to get it from 10% to 80%.
With the bigger battery, the G7 costs 225,800 yuan, or $31,500, and if you order one until the end of the month, Xpeng will throw in a Nappa leather interior for free. The car also has an augmented-reality movie mode that turns the windshield into a screen similar to a drive-in theater, folding tables for rear occupants, 6 kW V2L bidirectional charging and Level 3-capable automated driving.
The G7 doesn’t just challenge the Model Y but also all other similar-sized electric crossovers in China, including the ultra-popular new Xiaomi YU7. The latter got over 200,000 pre-orders in just a few minutes and it looks like a Ferrari Purosangue, but it’s also quite a bit more expensive and simply can’t compete with the G7 as a value proposition.
Last year, Xpeng signed a deal to develop zonal architectures and software for the Volkswagen Group’s next generation of EVs in China, similar to what the conglomerate is doing with Rivian in the West. While it’s not a household name in the EV space yet, there seems to be a very good chance that will change sooner than later.