Shortly after the EU’s temporary tariffs on Chinese-made EVs kicked in, a contact at XPeng confirmed plans for the company to build cars in Europe.
At the recent event, this was confirmed by XPeng chairman, He Xiaopeng, as he announced that the company is in the early stages of selecting a site to build their first international factory.
XPeng currently faces a 20.8% additional subsidy on the models it imports into Europe as part of the temporary tariffs levied on brands that cooperated with the European Commission’s investigation, though it looks like these will be increased to 21.3% if the final decision goes unchanged before November.
XPeng was one of the first Chinese brands to export electric vehicles to Europe with the G3 kicking off sales in Norway in September 2020, and has since expanded to countries such as Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. In fact it is now present in thirty countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
After a slow start, the move is now starting to reap some fruit with overseas sales in Q2 2024 making up 10% of the brand’s overall revenue, with models like the G9 becoming the best-selling mid-to-large SUV in Denmark and Norway, and achieving top 3 status in Sweden and the Netherlands.
When they eventually open a facility in Europe, they will join the likes of Stellantis-backed Leapmotor, BYD, and SAIC, who have either started production or are building new plants in Europe already.
