XPENG G9L Starts European Trial Production
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Yesterday, the first XPENG G9L rolled off the trial production line in Graz, Austria, headed for the European market.
The G9L will be the fourth XPENG model produced at the European plant. The G6, G9 and P7+ are currently assembled at factory, run by Magna. The same Austrian plant has produced a wide range of cars over the years, including the Mercedes G Class, Mercedes SLS, BMW 5 series, BMW Z4, Toyota Supra, , Jaguar I-Pace, Aston Martin Rapide… and many more. Magna knows how to assemble a premium vehicle and represents a proven manufacturing partner for XPENG in Europe.
As Zhang Li, Vice President of Global Manufacturing at XPENG puts it:
The latest production milestone represents an important step in our journey from entering Europe to building for Europe. By combining global vehicle development and AI technology with established local manufacturing expertise, we are bringing the next-gen XPENG vehicles closer to customers in Europe and around the world.
That emphasis on global development and local manufacturing, combined with the Magna connection, raises other possibilities. Magna is a Canadian company. I could also see Magna leveraging their global manufacturing expertise to start assembling EVs for the North American market. Could we see Canadian-made XPENG vehicles on the horizon? I could see a large, premium SUV like the G9L, loaded with technology and amenities, doing well in North America.
XPENG emphasizes that the G9L is being developed as a global vehicle from the start, with plans to launch in 64 countries and regions. This includes markets like Malaysia, as we recently covered. XPENG has been growing rapidly, with exports up 81% this year. Based upon recent XPENG product launches, they clearly see that as just a starting point for global growth. Once deliveries ramp up, sales should accelerate further.
To develop a global vehicle, the XPENG G9L has been validated against global standards from the start, including 26 countries and regions, with roughly 6.74 million km of road testing over 3 years. Given the rapid pace of product development in China, that much commitment to testing and validation must have taken some courage.
The G9L has been subjected to 192 crash tests under over 110 testing protocols. This includes both left-hand and right-hand drive markets. In the process it received 5-star ratings from E-NCAP, A-NCAP, C-NCAP and C-IASI. The G9L also incorporates numerous active and passive safety systems with a level of redundancy derived from their aerospace experience.
Beyond the standard tests, XPENG also subjected the same vehicle to water, fire and multiple impacts under a “720-degree” safety challenge.
Of course, the G9L will also come with XPENG’s excellent VLA 2.0 intelligent driving system. That system is set to launch in Europe in early 2027, once UN DCAS regulations go into effect. While that system has impressed on challenging Chinese and European roads, my experience so far has been on somewhat smaller cars. While the intelligent driving system can see better than I can, it is easier to place smaller vehicles on the road. For a large SUV on narrow European roads often filled with bicycles and scooters, I think the intelligent driving system could quickly become a must-have feature.
Beyond intelligent driving, the G9L incorporated AI in the chassis to balance ride comfort and driving dynamics. As different markets have different road conditions and different preferences, I expect that the tuning takes a lot of work. However, the standard dual-chamber air suspension, intelligent variable damping and rear-wheel steering allow for the vehicle dynamics to be tuned largely via software. In addition to improving handling, the 15 degrees of rear steering also makes the large vehicle far more maneuverable than its size would indicate.
The initial European-produced G9L on its way to the Paris Motor Show for its official October 12 debut. I have covered the G9L before, but I have only seen it so far from a computer screen or under camouflage. Paris will give me a chance to experience it in person, fully uncovered. Based on my impressions from the three-row GX flagship, I have high expectations for the 2-row flagship SUV.
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