Tesla Challenger XPeng is Now Shipping its Flagship P7 Electric Sedan to Norway

author: Eric Walz   

The XPeng P7 sedan is a more affordable alternative to Tesla's flagship Model S.

Chinese electric vehicle startup XPeng has begun shipping its second electric vehicle to Norway, a country with the world's highest EV adoption rate. XPeng's entry into Europe will give rival Tesla some new competition in Norway, especially for its flagship Model S.

Xpeng announced that the first of the P7 sedans left Guangzhou, China today enroute to Norway. It marks the first time that XPeng has exported the flagship P7 to a market outside China.

As one of the leading EV startups in China, XPeng said it sees tremendous opportunities to expand to global markets. The rollout of the P7 in Norway is the next step in the company's strategy to develop its presence outside China.

The P7 sedan was first unveiled at Auto Shanghai in April 2019.

The Norwegian-spec version of the P7 rolled off XPeng's production line at its Zhaoqing Smart EV Manufacturing Base in August. The first customers in Norway are expected to receive their P7s in the fourth quarter.

Xpeng started shipping its first vehicle, the G3 SUV, to Norway in Sept 2020.

"We are dedicated to meeting the growing customer demand for our smart EVs in China and internationally by bringing the most sophisticated and stylish models to our customers," said Mr. He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng. "We are seeing smart EVs not only redefining driver experience with their innovative functions and differentiated services, but also offering the potential to fundamentally transform mobility behavior."

With Xpeng's continued expansion to Norway, the EV startup will give Tesla some additional competition in both China and in Europe. Since its launch, the Tesla Model 3 has sold well in Norway and the rest of Europe, but so have Tesla's vehicles in general. Tesla was the second best selling car brand in Norway, selling roughly 18,800 cars there in 2019, according to data from Statista.

The P7's advanced technology and high performance has a devoted following among China's most tech-savvy buyers as a more affordable alternative to the more expensive Tesla Model S. As of July 31, XPeng delivered over 40,000 P7s to customers in China since deliveries began in June 2020.

The super-long range version of the P7 sedan also offers the longest range of all production EVs sold in China, with an NEDC range of 706km (439 miles). For comparison, the Long Range Plus version of the Tesla Model S achieves an EPA estimated range of 402 miles.

The P7 also stands out as one of the first Chinese electric vehicles being built for autonomous driving. All of Xpeng's autonomous driving development is done entirely in house, with roughly 50% of the company's employees working in R&D. 

Xpeng's P7 Smart Sedan has a total of 32 sensors for self-driving. The entire hardware suit includes redundancy to avoid any single point failure. 

XPeng's most advanced self-driving feature is called "Navigation Guided Pilot" (NGP). The automaker said the technology has increased the P7's appeal to a wider customer base in China. It also represents the company's commitment to innovation. 

The P7 features the Nvidia DRIVE AGX Xavier platform for Xpeng's XPILOT autonomous driving system. It features Nvidia's high-performance, energy-efficient Xavier system-on-a-chip (SoC). Nvidia's Xavier SoC is a powerhouse, delivering 30 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) to support autonomous driving.

The company also developed an AI-powered intelligent OS for its vehicles called XSmart OS.

To support its expansion into Norway, Xpeng said it's currently establishing a full-scale Norwegian operation that includes customer experience, sales, delivery, service, charging and lifestyle facilities.   

Last month, XPeng reported its highest ever monthly deliveries of 8,040 electric vehicles. It represents a 228% increase year-over-year, and a 22% increase compared to June. The record-setting sales in July tops the previous record high set in June, when XPeng achieved its highest-ever monthly deliveries ever with 6,565 new vehicles delivered. 

Just last week, XPeng announced plans to double its manufacturing capacity with a new factory in China, as it takes on segment leader Tesla and others in the world's biggest auto market. The new plant will double XPeng's annual vehicle production capacity from 100,000 to 200,000 electric vehicles and position XPeng to meet growing demand for its smart EVs both in China and Europe.

XPeng was founded in 2014. It's also a publicly traded company in the U.S., launching its IPO in August of last year. 

XPeng's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "XPEV".

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.