Xpeng P7 Boasts Longest Range Of Any EV Sold In China

The new Xpeng P7 sedan has been rated by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at 706 km (438 miles) of range — longer than any other electric car sold in China. That rating is for the single motor rear-wheel drive version of the car. A dual motor all-wheel drive configuration is also available but has not yet been rated by MIIT. The Telsa Model 3 Long Range has 668 km (414 miles) of range according to MIIT, which uses the NEDC rating system.

Image credit: Xpeng via YouTube

The P7 comes standard with an 80.87 kWh battery pack comprised of pouch cells with a claimed energy density of 170 Wh/kg. The rear motor is rated at 96 kW (263 HP). The front motor adds 120 kW (161 HP). The RWD version has a 0 – 100 km/h time of 6.7 seconds. That time drops to 4.3 seconds for the AWD version. Xpeng says all P7 models — which are available in 8 configurations — can be ordered now for June delivery, according to a report by Inside EVs. The least expensive version lists for US$32,462 after all government incentives. The top of the line AWD car sells for $49,404 after incentives.

No One Trick Pony

So far, the specs suggest yet another electric sedan with average performance and above average range, but there is more to the P7 than those numbers imply. According to a company press release, “It is the first L3 autonomy-ready production vehicle in the Chinese market. It is the first production model in any market worldwide powered by NVIDIA’s DRIVE AGX Xavier system-on-a-chip, delivering 30 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) performance while consuming only 30 watts of power.”

Other key features include:

• High-performance 3-in-1 electric drive system — compact, light, efficient, reliable — with motor energy density of 2.0 kW/kg and an efficiency up to 97.5%.
• World’s first EV with Infineon 950 IGBT module, delivering up to 580A to motor for continuous 40s.
• Bosch / Brembo braking system, new-gen Bosch iBooster braking recycling, c.100% energy recovery, with 35m 100km/h brake distance.
• Autonomous driving system XPILOT3.0 for China’s challenging roads – 12 ultrasonic sensors, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 14 cameras – industry’s only 360° multi-perception integrated system .
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 high-performance auto chip running Xpeng Xmart OS 2.0 – world’s first intelligent full-scenario voice interactive system, integrating App stores and Alipay mini-program dual ecosystem.
• Whole-car OTA upgrade capability for in-car apps as well as ECU-controlled functions, supported by its SEPA (Smart Electric Platform Architecture).
• CATL high-density slim-profile prismatic battery pack, 110mm height, 80.9kWh with energy density reaching 170Wh/kg.
• Fast charging: from 30% to 80% charge as fast as 28 mins, 120km range in 10 mins; with China’s first remote-controlled concealed charging plug.
• 5-level safety design: Passive, battery, active, air quality and data security measures.

A Worthy Competitor?

Elon always says he wants others to build compelling electric cars. Does the P7 fit that definition? It is stylish and aero-efficient. It has a thoroughly modern interior, OTA update capability, and great range. Its acceleration times may be a tick of the watch behind a comparably equipped Tesla but such statistics pale into insignificance in real world driving. Pricewise, it sells for a few yuan less than a comparable Tesla. All in all, its an appealing package whose only drawback is that it is a sedan in a world that is rapidly ditching sedans and embracing SUVs.

There are no plans yet to export the Xpeng P7. Perhaps the company can sell all the cars it can build in the home market for years to come. But rest assured there is a plan to export cars to Europe and the US at some point in the future. Who knows? Xpeng could be the new Hyundai by 2030 or so.