The Battle of Intelligent EV vs Traditional Fuel Vehicles Embarks with the Release of XPeng P5
Author: Kenvin
Abstract: XPeng P5, an intelligent EV, challenges traditional fuel vehicles in a crucial battle.
On the evening of September 15th, the “HIGH FIVE” themed release of XPeng P5 was held online. Due to the epidemic, many new car releases were taken online; however, it is a pity that a heavyweight model like P5 was solely released online. Nevertheless, from the perspective of the final propagation effect, P5 has accumulated 1.3 billion worth of exposure, which is quite remarkable.
At the release, XPeng’s founder and CEO, He XPeng, who is also P5’s first product manager, officially announced the launch of P5, which positions as a “versatile and comfortable intelligent family sedan.” P5 has a total of six models: 460G, 460E, 550G, 550E, 550P, and 600P. The price ranges from 1.579 to 2.239 million yuan after the subsidy, and deliveries will begin at the end of October.
As XPeng’s latest work in exploring intelligent travel, P5’s strength goes without saying. From its initial installation of a laser radar to its variable space design, it is no exaggeration to say that P5 has redefined the intelligent EV industry. Although P5’s product features are abundant, its cost is relatively high, and its competitiveness, especially for medium-to-low models, is somewhat embarrassing.
Thus, the key to XPeng P5’s success revolves around how much market share it can seize through its medium-to-high models in this battle between intelligent EVs and traditional fuel vehicles.
An Initial Controversial Start
When He XPeng announced the final price of P5, many people were surprised and continuously discussed the matter: “Compared to the pre-sale price, this price is simply not surprising.” “Others spend 150,000 yuan and purchase a 600km range, while P5 only has a 460km range, so it seems that taking a taxi is the only option.” “I cancelled my purchase”…
There will always be the difficulties of the first mover, and XPeng should know this better than anyone. Perhaps P5 is XPeng’s masterpiece, which took him two years to complete. From its auxiliary driving system to its intelligent space, everything makes people feel amazed. However, the core issue, and the most critical advantage that today’s consumers value the most – the cost-performance ratio – is absent from P5. XPeng’s biggest oversight in P5 development was giving up the endurance advantage and undervaluing the importance of the three electric systems. Admittedly, in theory, with XPeng’s supercharging network, the endurance anxiety is not as severe as imagined. The success of P7 is most closely related to the reputation brought by the ultra-high endurance of 706km.The reason why P5 is not welcomed is that, in addition to the lack of cost advantage in this round, the unappealing design is the deeply-rooted factor. In the eve of 2021 Shanghai Auto Show in April, P5 made its global debut, intended to be a shining moment, but the poor appearance (especially compared to P7) immediately made P5 dim and seemingly a beautiful mistake.
Although there are flaws in the design and triad, P5 shines in intelligence and space. It launched a laser radar and made it available under 200,000 RMB, which is a critical step in promoting the popularity of intelligent electric vehicles. Additionally, P5 offers ever-changing space, providing an A-level car platform that crushes the space perception of traditional B-level cars. XPeng’s endeavors in intelligent electric vehicles are unparalleled.
However, overall, compared to P7 at that time, P5 is relatively mediocre and more controversial, indicating that there is still room for improvement in product power. Looking at the recently launched G3i, it seems to also have many issues with product power. How come that as the intelligent electric vehicle market is booming, XPeng, as an explorer, begins to falter?
On July 16th, XPeng disclosed the order status of P5 in the past 24 hours. The data showed that P5 received 6,159 orders. For a heavyweight model that began preparation in April, this achievement is not remarkable. From an enterprise perspective, compared to Tesla’s models, which often receive hundreds of thousands of orders, XPeng still has a long way to go to challenge Tesla.
You either achieve unprecedented success, or you become frontline cannon fodder, and these are the two outcomes that explorers must bear. Despite P5’s controversial opening, its future is still full of uncertainty, especially when considering the power that XPeng put into building P7. We cannot define P5’s short-term fate as complete failure.
From now on, leave Tesla behind.
While the future of P5 is uncertain, it is still a shining star in the history of intelligent electric vehicles. He XPeng said: “In the new era, family cars should enjoy the best configuration that the times have to offer. We want to create the best 200,000 RMB-level intelligent family car. P5 is designed to achieve this goal. As the world’s first mass-produced intelligent car equipped with laser radar, the launch of XPeng P5 represents the official arrival of a new era of intelligent family cars.”Since 2014, the Chinese new forces, also known as China’s Tesla, have been following in Tesla’s footsteps and working hard. While some Chinese new forces may achieve good results, they are always in the shadow of Tesla and have little room for growth, after all, Tesla has always been unique. However, the arrival of the P5, or more precisely, the arrival of the LiDAR, heralds the beginning of a path towards autonomy for Chinese new forces. Autonomy also means surpassing others.
In the face of countless devastating accidents, even Musk’s clever arguments seem pale, which tells us that the road of “autonomous driving” is a one-way street. It is not difficult to foresee that when the rumors of assisted driving are completely dispelled, it will also be the beginning of Tesla’s collapse.
Take the P5 as an example, whose LiDAR-equipped price is under 200,000 yuan, indicating that the “autonomous driving” route with LiDAR at its core is now ready for mass production. Once the production problems of LiDAR are solved, the upgrade from assisted driving to autonomous driving will also become natural. Tesla’s assisted driving is already lagging behind.
Everyone can clearly see this upgrade. Therefore, in the P5 orders announced by XPeng, over 90% of customers chose XPilot 3.0 or 3.5, and over 50% chose the LiDAR configuration. From this report card, it can be seen that the majority of users who pursue XPeng’s intelligent driving configuration.
He XPeng said that the P5’s direct competitors are traditional B-level cars such as Camry and Accord. But we believe that it is now Tesla’s Model 3 that should be the most nervous. P5’s middle and high-end configuration is superior to Model 3 in terms of price, assisted driving, and space. Especially with the LiDAR as the core of assisted driving, the safety has been substantially improved, and it will become the most hoped-for but out-of-reach weapon for Tesla owners. As for Tesla’s prospective owners, they will also consider carefully whether to trust Tesla.
After being Tesla’s apprentice for 7 years, XPeng and even the Chinese new forces will leave Tesla behind and begin to run wildly.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.