Innovative Xpeng G3 Electric SUV Goes On Sale In China

Chinese EV startup Xpeng, formerly known as Xiaopeng, has begun selling its innovative G3 electric SUV in China. As we indicated a few weeks ago from an auto show in China, the electric vehicle’s launch date in the Red Dragon was December 12, and it seems that announcement was accurate.

Elon Musk has always said Tesla’s patents are open to others to use and Xpeng founder He Xiaopeng has said previously his company is taking advantage of that policy. The G3 strongly resembles current Teslas in its frontend styling and use of a large vertical touchscreen like the one found in the Model S and Model X.

Details are limited about this vehicle, but Electrive reports the G3 has a range of 365 kilometers (227 miles). That figure, however, is derived using the outmoded NEDC standard. If the car ever came to the US, its EPA range would likely be around 150 miles or so. Xpeng claims the G3 has about 200 horsepower and 220 ft-lb of torque — enough for decent performance in a 5 passenger SUV.

As CleanTechnica’s own Sebastian Blanco reported from the Guangzhou Motor Show a few weeks ago (pics from that event below), “the Xpeng G3 goes on sale December 12th at a price of around 150,000 RMB ($21,500) after government subsidy.”

That’s surprisingly affordable for a vehicle copying Tesla. Xpeng, however, is said to have no intentions of exporting the cars to foreign markets at the present time. There may be issues related to passing safety regulations or finding an effective dealer network or direct sales approach. We’ll see if that changes in the coming years.

He Xiaopeng says the G3 will offer a range of automated driving features and over-the-air updates. These “self-developed innovative features, many of which are first-of-its-kind, are intended for China’s unique user behaviors and road conditions,” he says.

They include the ability for the G3 to park itself and include facial recognition sensors that can facilitate payment for charging, provide driver fatigue alerts, and monitor the driver’s pulse rate. Whether the Xpeng G3 is exciting enough to elevate anyone’s heartbeat remains to be seen.