XPeng’s G6 arrives as competitor to Tesla Model Y in China, nabs over 25k orders in first 72 hours

Just three days after hitting showrooms and opening pre-orders, XPeng Motors’ G6 SUV is garnering a lot of hype in China as over 25,000 customers have already reserved one. This is encouraging news for the automaker, which has put a lot of faith into its latest model as the EV that will compete with the Tesla Model Y and help boost its delivery numbers this year.

The G6 made its official debut in China in late April as XPeng Motors’ fifth EV model, described as an “ultra smart coupe SUV.” The new model also arrives as XPeng’s first production EV to sit atop its next-generation SEPA 2.0 platform architecture, enabling it to offer many new performance features, including faster charging and range increase (469 miles).

Although we won’t know exactly how the coupe SUV’s trims will break down and how pricing will be spaced, we do know the G6 will be priced between RMB 200,000-300,000 ($28,500-$42,650). Toward the end of May, we reported that the first G6 production models had rolled off XPeng’s assembly lines in China ahead of pre-orders opening on June 9.

Those initial models were expected to be shipped immediately to XPeng showrooms around China so potential customers could see the G6 up close and hopefully place a pre-order. Three days since its showroom debut, XPeng is reporting over 25,000 pre-orders.

Early G6 orders are an encouraging sign for XPeng Motors

The automaker shared details of the early hype surrounding the G6 via multiple posts on its company Weibo page. Over 25,000 customers paid RMB 2,000 ($280) to lock in a pre-order for a new XPeng G6 with a discount of RMB 5,000 ($700) available to them if and when they decide to buy the EV.

The vehicle itself is nearly the same size as the Tesla Model Y, one of the EVs XPeng is trying to compete with in China. In general, XPeng is trying to compete against an entire booming industry of EVs overseas and believes the G6 will be its hot seller to help its sales hockey stick above companies like Tesla and Nio this year.

As shared in a research note sent to investors in late May, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu believes XPeng executives are expecting monthly G6 sales to reach between 6,000-8,000 units. With 25,000 pre-orders already in place, the G6 should help propel XPeng Motors to a successful year in sales… should all those orders solidify.

In the past, XPeng executives have shared the company expects G6 deliveries to begin in Q2 2023. We will learn more at the end of this month when the coupe SUV makes its official launch in China.