XPeng officially launches G9 SUV equipped with 15-minute fast charging and an ADAS that can top Tesla FSD

After sharing sporadic details since last fall, XPeng Motors has officially launched its new G9 SUV in China, featuring some of the most cutting edge technology overseas. In addition to sharing how the trims break down, we’ve included some of the unique features on the XPeng G9 including ultra-fast charging, advanced ADAS that could be the best in the world to date, and vehicle-to-load capabilities. Oh and pricing, check it out.

XPeng launches G9 in China first, deliveries begin in October

In 2021, rumors began circulating about what XPeng’s next EV model – the fourth in its lineup – would be. Last fall, the automaker announced plans for its second SUV model, the G9, which could recharge 200 km (124 mi) of range in just five minutes.

Following our first official look at the G9, we learned it would arrive as XPeng’s most advanced EV to date and the first to be designed from the ground up for both the Chinese and international markets,  compliant with the C-NCAP and E-NCAP five-star safety design standards as well as the EU WVTA vehicle certification standards.

We also learned the G9 would feature XPeng’s ultra-advanced ADAS capable of full-scenario-assisted driving through its Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP); the automaker has been showcasing more and more as a serious competitor to Tesla’s FSD.

This past August, XPeng shared a bunch of additional G9 details with the public, along with our first sneak peek at its interior. Still, pertinent details like trim levels, range, and pricing were all omitted. Today, however, the G9 has officially launched and we have all those specs to share, so let’s dig in.

Exterior

Let’s start on the outside of the new G9 and work our way in. Sort of like unwrapping a delicious, zero-emission piece of candy. Truthfully, not much to report here as the most fascinating and exciting features of the G9 lie deep in its platform and up through its interior technology.

As you can see from the 360-degree photoshoot above, XPeng’s G9 is a sleek looking full-size SUV that seats five and is aerodynamic enough to deliver some pretty impressive performance specs, despite its size.

Its front end stays true to XPeng’s recognizable blade lighting all the way across, and is further accented by a panoramic glass roof and flush door handles. There is also a deployable electric tow bar in the rear. A cool exterior look for sure, but you gotta see the interior.

Interior

At first glance, you should notice the lush caramel textiles that contrast the dark interior panels in the cabin. The dash comes equipped with two high-definition displays, including a 15-inch screen across the middle; that particular display houses the debut of XPeng’s new interactive 3D user interface based on the Unity3D engine. The 3D map accurately renders the vehicle’s surroundings in real-time, vital for its new ADAS technology (more on that below).

The interior of the G9 is loaded with additional technology to support its driver and their passengers, including an always-on AI voice assistant that can respond to commands from all four areas of the cabin without needing to be reactivated. The voice assistant responds in milliseconds and can control over 600 vehicle functions without a network connection.

The G9 also comes equipped with Xopera, XPeng’s proprietary multimedia system that can deliver concert hall-level acoustic engineering through an 18-speaker Dynaudio Confidence layout. Dolby Atmos technology contributes to Xopera’s immersive experience, providing passengers with an 5D ride that includes seat vibrations, changes to the ambient lighting, adjustable air conditioning, and customized fragrances when watching a film, jamming to music, or just lounging. We wonder what horror movies are like in there.

XPeng’s new G9 has a rear trunk volume of 660 L (23.3 ft³) that increases to 1,576 L (55.7 ft³) when the rear seats are folded. The front seats can also be folded to create even more space. Lastly, the interior features a 220V outlet with up to 2,200W of power, giving owners vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities to power other devices when they are out and about… like a popcorn machine for your 5D horror movie. Here are some more images:

XPeng declares the G9 “the world’s fastest charging EV”

The cosmetic stuff is nice and all, but it’s the actual inner workings of the G9 that XPeng Motors believes will truly set it apart from the rest of the pack in China and beyond. That starts with its 800V platform – bolstered by Silicon Carbide (SiC) chips – that ensure high throughput while charging.

Speaking of charging, XPeng is touting the G9 as the “world’s fastest charging EV.” We haven’t seen any official data to back that up, but the specs the automaker has shared so far are quite impressive. To begin, most trims of the G9 (see below) will come equipped with 3C battery cells, provided by manufacturers like EVE, CALB, and CATL.

That version of the platform can charge from 10-80% in 20 minutes on XPeng’s new network of 480 kW S4 chargers. The company claims that’s still better than most of the industry, but has already topped its own speeds. The 4C version of the G9 can deliver the previously promised 200km of range in five minutes, but also recharge from 10-80% in 15 minutes. Hell yeah.

In a call with the media today, XPeng’s president and vice chairman Brian Gu explained that while a majority of the G9 trims feature standard batteries from the manufacturers mentioned above, XPeng worked with Sunwoda for its 4C technology to ensure battery cells that could handle its 480 kW charging that were also customized to maximize the SUV’s platform. But what about range? Don’t worry, we’ve outlined all of that for you below.

XNGP

Aside from crazy fast charging, another huge selling point for the G9 is XPeng’s second-generation ADAS system in XNGP. Previously, we’ve covered plenty of progress of XPeng’s self-driving technology named Navigation Guided Pilot or NGP as part of the automaker’s first-generation ADAS, XPILOT.

Highway NGP has already rolled out to current XPeng drivers whose EV had the necessary equipment and software update, but it’s City NGP that could truly set XPeng apart from everyone else. XPeng has been sharing footage of City NGP navigating congested urban streets in Guangzhou for months, but officially launched its pilot program in China on Monday.

We’ve pointed out in the past how XNGP could overtake Tesla FSD as the leading ADAS in self-driving technology, but its truly hard to compare the two side-by-side since the latter is not available in China, whether that’s due to strict government or mapping regulations. Not sure.

In speaking with XPeng’s vice president of autonomous driving XinZhou Wu, XPeng doesn’t know Tesla’s plans, but strongly believes it’s well ahead of the automaker and any other competitor for that matter. Wu said that by XPeng’s research, EV competitors are just starting to roll out highway ADAS and believes those companies won’t achieve city level driver assistance for another 12-18 months.

By then, XNGP should have already rolled out to all customers equipped who want it, while the automaker expands its capability to more and more Chinese cities outside of Guangzhou. While City NGP is not expected to officially roll out to customers until 2023, the G9 is already equipped to provide the semi-autonomous technology via OTA update.

With XNGP, the G9 is the XPeng Motors’ first EV to feature the all-encompassing generation of ADAS, including highway, city, and other autonomous features like parking assist. XNGP comes standard on the X trims of the G9, while E trims come with the first generation XPILOT ADAS, which still includes parking assist and Highway NGP.

XPeng G9 trim levels and pricing

Here we are, the stuff everyone always wants to see first, although we’d argue in the case of the G9, the charging and ADAS technology is much more exciting news. The G9 will come in five separate trims, plus a special Launch Edition of the high-end 650X version.

Powertrain configurations vary as close range depending on the trim you choose, but at minimum, the G9 can provide 354 miles of CLTC range. Furthermore, it’s quite reasonably priced for the amount of advanced technology it will soon provide its owners. Here’s the full breakdown:

G9 hits China in October, but what about the EU and beyond?

As the headline says, first deliveries for the G9 are scheduled for October, beginning in China. That being said, the G9 is the first XPeng EV to be built from the ground up with both the Chinese and international markets in mind.

XPeng already has experience centers in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, and is selling its G3i SUV and P7 sedan in Norway. We asked the XPeng team when we would first see G9’s in experience centers in the EU and when those consumers can expect to see deliveries.

Brian Gu explained that the priority right now is to ramp up production of the G9 in China to satisfy that market first. XPeng expects that when production does successfully ramp up next year, it will reach monthly outputs around 10,000 units.

From there, XPeng will then bring the G9 to the EU, probably beginning in Norway where it is already selling EVs, while also displaying it and offering test drives at its other European experience centers. As an EV built for international markets and the current pride and joy of XPeng Motors, perhaps we see entry into additional countries like the UK?

When asked, the XPeng team said the market focus will be on left-hand driving countries to start, but did not rule out future expansions. We’re looking forward to getting behind the wheel on the G9 and testing out those charge speeds especially. Until then!

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