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He Xiaopeng, CEO of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, speaks during a launch event at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 25, 2024. Photo: AFP
BusinessChina Business

Chinese EV maker Xpeng eyes Australia’s right-hand-drive market, forms partnership with local car distributor TrueEV

  • Guangzhou-based carmaker also aims to sell right-hand-drive models in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia
  • News comes as an escalating price war in mainland China squeezes profit margins
Electric & new energy vehicles
Daniel Ren
Daniel Renin Shanghai
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Chinese electric vehicle (EV) builder Xpeng is revving up its effort to enter right-hand-drive markets overseas, signing a partnership with an Australian car distributor just weeks after revealing plans to sell such cars in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

The company announced on Thursday that it had formed an exclusive partnership with importer, distributor and retailer TrueEV, which plans to display Xpeng’s G6 SUV in showrooms starting in the fourth quarter. The companies did not say when the EV would be available to Australian customers.

Guangzhou-based Xpeng announced last month that it plans to start selling right-hand-drive versions of the G6 and the X9 multipurpose vehicle in Hong Kong during the third quarter – its first offering of such vehicles worldwide.

“The partnership with TrueEV in Australia is recognised as a significant step forward in our global expansion strategy,” Alex Tang, Xpeng’s general manager of international markets, said in a statement. “TrueEV’s experience and local insight makes this the natural and forward-thinking next step in our expansion plan.”

As part of the deal, sales of Xpeng’s intelligent vehicles in Australia will be supported with a roll-out of Xpeng’s charging technology, said Jason Clarke, CEO of TrueEV.

Attendees look at an Xpeng X9 on display at the Guangzhou Auto Show in Guangzhou, China, on November 17, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
Xpeng, partly owned by Volkswagen Group, is upping the ante in overseas markets as an escalating price war in mainland China, the world’s largest EV market, is squeezing profit margins.

In addition to Hong Kong and Australia, the company will also target the right-hand-drive markets of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, it said.

CEO He Xiaopeng told the Post in March that the carmaker also plans to make inroads into European markets such as Germany and France with its ­left-hand-drive models.

The five-seat G6, which has a range of at least 580km, is priced from 209,900 yuan (US$29,049) to 276,900 yuan on the mainland. The seven-seat X9, which even in the basic edition has a 610km range, is priced between 359,800 yuan and 419,800 yuan.

Both vehicles are capable of navigating their way automatically along city streets using Xpeng’s Navigation Guided Pilot.

Xpeng has yet to unveil prices for its right-hand-drive vehicles built for Hong Kong consumers.

Michael Dunne, CEO of consultancy Dunne Insights, said in a newsletter on Tuesday that China would ship 6 million vehicles to 140 countries this year, as it retains the title of the world’s largest car exporter.

“Chinese brands like SAIC’s MG, Chery, Geely’s Volvo and BYD are leading the way, winning in every time zone from Brazil to Thailand, from the UK to Australia,” he said.

An export volume of 6 million vehicles represents a 22 per cent increase over last year’s 4.91 million units.

That would be enough for the country to defend its title as the world’s largest exporter of vehicles, after it beat Japan to clinch the top spot for the first time last year.

In 2023, Japan exported 4.42 million cars, up 16 per cent on the year.

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