It would be an understatement that Chinese electric startup Xpeng has had a rough start to 2023. Its sales through the first half of 2023 dropped by 40% but that doesn’t mean it is giving up hope. Quite the opposite, in fact, as it is optimistic about the rest of the year.
Hot on the heels of unveiling its rival to the Tesla Model Y in the form of the new G6 crossover, Xpeng president Brian Gu recently told the media that it should help to increase the brand’s monthly sales to 15,000 units in the third quarter, nearly double that of May and June, and up to 20,000 units in the final quarter.
While recently speaking with Reuters, Gu said Xpeng has received a “significant” amount of orders for the G6. While he didn’t specify an exact number, we do know that some 25,000 orders were placed in the first 72 hours of a local presale earlier this year. Prices start at 209,900 yuan (~$29,000) and top out at 276,900 yuan (~$38,180).
Read: Xpeng G6 Starts At $29,000 In China, Undercuts Tesla Model Y By 20%
In the first five months of this year, Xpeng managed to deliver just 32,815 vehicles. For a company that was once viewed as one of the best rivals to Tesla, that figure is well behind the 219,893 vehicles that the American automaker sold in China in the same period. The dramatic 39.8% drop in sales during the first five months of the year contributed to a 45.9% decline in revenue while net losses swelled by 37.6%.
Xpeng will start customer deliveries of the G6 this month. It is also touting the car’s advanced driver assistance systems that include similar features as Tesla’s Full-Self Driving suite on urban roads in major cities. The car manufacturer claims the system is the most advanced of any EV in China that starts at 250,000 yuan ($34,000) or less.
