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Electric & new energy vehicles
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Chinese EV maker Xpeng launches SUVs in France as European expansion gains pace

  • France is Xpeng’s tenth European market and comes after launches in Spain and Portugal last month
  • The company will market the G9 and G6 premium battery-powered SUVs and will also set up a sales and service network with local distributors

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The G6 SUV is one of the two models Xpeng will sell in France. Photo: Weibo/Xpeng
Yujie Xue
China’s Xpeng has forayed into France, its tenth destination in Europe. The move comes amid escalating tensions with the US, which has slapped punitive tariffs to curb Chinese electric vehicle (EV) exports in a move that could soon be followed by the European Union.
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The Guangzhou-based company will market the G9 and the G6 premium battery-powered mid-size SUV models, according to a statement on Thursday.

Xpeng will work with French car distributors to set up a sales and service network first, followed closely by exports of the EVs.

“We are proud to highlight Xpeng’s power of technological innovation, through which we are paving the way for a new era in smart mobility, which we hope will be inclusive and accessible,” said Qiang Shunqiang, general manager for Xpeng France, in the statement.

01:52

US proposes new round of tariffs on China in latest trade war escalation

US proposes new round of tariffs on China in latest trade war escalation
Entrenched in a brutal price war at home, Chinese EV leaders like Xpeng, Nio, Li Auto, and BYD are increasingly turning their attention overseas to counter slowing domestic demand.
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However, they face big hurdles in their global expansion plans. On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it would raise tariffs on EVs to 100 per cent, as part of levies on US$18 billion of Chinese goods to protect US producers. An investigation launched by the EU last year into Beijing’s subsidies for carmakers could result in similar duties and derail plans.

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