BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng (NYSE:) announced plans to launch a lower-priced brand, entering a highly competitive segment amid intense price competition in the electric vehicle industry.
The brand’s models, which will be released next month, will cost between 100,000 and 150,000 yuan ($14,000 to $21,000), Xpeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said at an industry event in Beijing on Saturday, the company posted on its official WeChat website. check.
By comparison, premium electric vehicle manufacturers typically price their vehicles in the 200,000-300,000 yuan range.
Competition in China’s electric vehicle market has intensified as companies look to cut prices, with market leader BYD (SZ:) leading a deeper round of price cuts.
Xpeng said it would sequentially introduce models under the brand, which it did not name, each with different levels of intelligent driving capabilities. The new brand aims to create “the first artificial intelligence car for young people,” it said.
Sales of battery-powered electric vehicles in China slowed to 18.2% in the first two months of the year from 20.8% in all of 2023, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
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