XPeng Adjusts G9 SUV’s Name, Price and Configuration Two Days after Release

Chinese EV maker XPeng Motors officially launched its flagship SUV, the G9, two days ago. With a price range of 309,900 yuan to 469,900 yuan ($43,968 – $66,669), the model is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter this year. However, its complex configuration has exposed the company to much criticism. On September 23, the company has announced an overhaul, which has resulted in a price reduction of 20,000 yuan ($2,805).

At launch, the XPeng G9 includes six versions with different cruising ranges:

SEE ALSO: XPeng Launches G9 Flagship SUV, Starting from $43,968

Considering feedback from users regarding the difficulty of selecting a G9 configuration, XPeng spent two days retooling the product’s naming logic and pricing, according to a Weibo post on September 23.

A table published by XPeng shows that the company named the different versions of the G9 with cruising ranges including Plus, Pro and Max, to differentiate them instead from the previous use of letters including G, E, and X. Two more versions have been added.

The 570 Max and 702 Max have been newly added. The previous 650X Performance version was changed to the 650 Performance Max version while the configuration has also been upgraded. Pro and Max versions are standard with 5D music console, while Max versions are equipped with XNGP intelligent driving assistance system, dual LiDAR and other hardware. The package was previously available at 28,000 yuan.

The XPeng G9 is the first mass-production vehicle based on the 800V high voltage Silicon Carbide (SiC) platform. Charging for 5 minutes will offer another 200 kilometers of driving. Based on the X-EEA 3.0 electronic and electrical architecture, the G9 is equipped with Xpilot 4.0 auxiliary driving system. It provides two sets of power systems – a dual, single motor and a four-drive double motor. The maximum power of the single motor is 230kW while the maximum power of the double motor is 175kW and 230kW respectively.

An emergency name change after a press conference is typically bad for a company’s image. The reason why XPeng made such a choice is because of a large number of user feedback about the ambiguous positioning of the G9. According to Sina Tech, on the night of the G9 launch, the XPeng management team received multiple queries, not only from users, but also from its own sales department and employees, who said the configuration and price were unclear and too complex.

Some consumers think that the starting price of the G9 is close to 310,000 yuan, but the configuration does not meet the price at all. There is no advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) hardware, nor the most basic adaptive cruise control (ACC) and automatic emergency braking (AEB) functions.

In the first half of this year, XPeng‘s combined gross margin was 11.6 percent, while NIO‘s was 13.8 percent, and Li Auto‘s was 22.1 percent. The average selling price of NIO and Li Auto‘s models was more than 300,000 yuan. In terms of financial results, NIO ranked first among the three EV startups with 20.2 billion yuan in revenue while Li Auto gained 18.3 billion yuan and XPeng only gained 14.9 billion yuan in revenue.

XPeng is obviously under a lot of pressure, so the company is eager to earn with its G9. What is interesting is that the next day after the release of the G9, Li Auto announced that the L8 model will be released on September 30. The positioning and audience of G9 and L8 coincide highly, generating much competition.