Volkswagen and XPeng have entered into a “Master Agreement,” and the first product of their collaboration will be a mid-size SUV that is set to hit the road in 2026. The all-electric vehicle will be branded as a VW, but will contain technology from both carmakers.
The companies first announced that they would be entering into a strategic partnership last summer, when VW bought a 4.99 percent stake in XPeng for around $700 million. Now, they have officially announced that they will launch a pair of mid-size EVs by 2026, the first of which is an SUV.
“There is no precedent of the strategic partnership between Volkswagen and XPeng,” said Xiaopeng He, XPeng’s chairman and CEO. “Combining Volkswagen’s highly reputable vehicle development and engineering capability with XPeng’s smart EV technologies, we will deliver the best smart EV products to Chinese consumers.”
Read: Why VW Is Piggybacking Off Xpeng To Stay Relevant In China’s EV Race
Once the largest automaker by sales in China, Volkswagen lost its title to BYD in 2022 and has since struggled to keep up with the country’s fast-moving automotive market. Speeding up development for vehicles “in China, for China” is the main reason VW entered into this partnership.
“In the world’s largest and fastest growing EV market, speed is fundamental when it comes to tapping into promising market segments,” said Ralf Brandstätter, VW’s board member for China. “Through the partnership with XPeng, we are not only accelerating development times, but also boosting efficiency and optimizing cost structures. This increases the economic competitiveness in a highly price sensitive market environment significantly.”
VW claims that their collaboration with XPeng will help them reduce development times by up to 30 percent. Meanwhile, XPeng says that combining the companies’ supply chains, can reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of the vehicles born out of this collaboration.
The first vehicle will be based on the XPeng G9 SUV, reports Greg Kable. It is based on an 800V architecture that made it the “fastest-charging mass-production SUV” on earth when it was unveiled in 2022. The G9 is capable of going up to 436 miles (702 km) per charge, and reaching 62 mph (100 km/h) in as little as 3.9 seconds, thanks to a dual motor powertrain that delivers up to 543 hp (405 kW / 551 PS) and 529 lb-ft (717 Nm) of torque.
