XPeng Launches P5 EV Sedan With Advanced Smart Capabilities, Sub-$25,000 Starting Price

Xpeng Inc - ADR XPEV launched its third mass-produced vehicle model — the P5 sedan — about four months after announcing the new model.

XPeng Offers 6 Configurations of P5: XPeng said the new sedan comes in six configurations and is immediately available to order in China. The company termed the new model as a "game-changing" smart car, coming with auto-grade lidar technology.

The company named two configurations with the highest level of intelligence as P series and the two sets of the other four configurations are named E series and G series, respectively. Only two P series variants of the model are equipped with lidar.

The differences among the configurations are the range and smart capabilities, Brian Gu, XPeng's Vice Chairman and President said in a media briefing following the launch event.

When asked if the P5 will cannibalize P7 sales, Gu said the two models have different price points and there is very limited overlapping in the pricing of both. Additionally, the P7 is positioned as a sports sedan, while the P5 is a family sedan.

Customer delivery in China will begin at the end of October.

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P5 Pricing: The P5 post-subsidy pricing ranges between 157,900 yuan to 223,900 yuan ($24,484 to $34,717). This is below the pre-sale pricing announced by the company two months back.

XPeng's P7 sedan model has a starting price of 229,900 yuan. Tesla Inc TSLA reportedly is planning to roll out a $25,000 car in 2023.

P5's Range: The six versions of P5 have an NEDC driving range from 460 km, up to 550 km and 600 km. Its 100 kilometers-per-hour acceleration is 7.5 seconds, while its 100-0 kph braking distance is 36.5 meters.

Some versions of P5 are also equipped with a high-energy-density battery of 180Wh/kg, extending range still further, XPeng said.

All P5 versions have a heat pump air-conditioner as a standard spec, improving the overall driving range in winter by about 15%.

The sleek design gives an added range boost, with a drag coefficient as low as 0.223 Cd, which the company said is close to the drag level of a supercar.

P5 Advanced Smart Capabilities: Xpeng said the P5 has a strong advanced driver assistance hardware system, with 32 perception sensors and one sub-meter high-precision positioning unit.

The P5's two double-prism lidar units integrate with 12 ultrasonic radars, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 13 high-definition cameras and a high-precision positioning unit, to allow 360-degree visual and lidar fusion perception of the road environment, XPeng said.

This high-definition auto sensorium is powered by XPILOT 3.5, the latest XPeng's in-house-developed advanced driver assistance system.

The Navigation Guided Pilot, NGP, will also be upgraded to NGP-L (highway NGP with lidar) to allow even safer and more capable-assisted driving on China's highways and expressways, the company added. The P5 is also fitted with Valet Parking Assist cross-story parking lot memory parking.

XPEV Price Action: At last check Wednesday, XPeng shares were down 3.14% at $37.31.

Photo: XPeng P5, Courtesy XPeng