Xpeng had a series of moves to grow in Europe in early 2022, but those efforts came to a halt at the end of June last year with the suspension of P5 reservations.
(Image credit: Xpeng)
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) appears to be restarting to ramp up its bets in overseas markets after the effort slowed for much of last year.
"We're launching our two new EVs in Europe on February 3, 2023. Stay tuned for more details," the Chinese electric vehicle company said in a tweet on January 25.
The text of the tweet doesn't offer any more information, but an accompanying image suggests the two EVs could be Xpeng's flagship SUV, the G9, and its flagship sedan, the P7.
We're launching our two new EVs in Europe on February 3, 2023.
Stay tuned for more details 😎#ReadyForElectric pic.twitter.com/i078L9nl5R— XPENG (@XPengMotors) January 25, 2023
This corroborates a report earlier this month when Auto Time said on January 18 that Xpeng would launch two models for overseas markets in 2023 and a third in 2024.
Xpeng took the European market seriously early last year and has a series of moves there.
On February 10, 2022, the company shared a chart on Twitter showing that China and Europe lead the growth of the global electric vehicle market from 2015 to 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 68 percent in China and 55 percent in Europe.
" Which region is propelling global EV growth? A glance at global EV penetration from 2015 to 2021. What's the next destination for XPENG?" the tweet reads.
A few hours after the tweet, Xpeng announced that it had reached retail partnership agreements in the Netherlands and Sweden, and would open its first self-operated experience store in Sweden within a week, the company's first in an international market.
A month later, on March 10, Xpeng allowed local consumers to reserve the P5 sedan, the company's third production car, in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Xpeng previously offered the G3 series SUV and P7 sedan in Norway, and this was the first time the P5 has joined the export ranks.
Xpeng also announced at the time the opening of its first local experience store in the Netherlands, the second Xpeng-branded showroom in Europe.
On March 14, Xpeng announced that it had become a member of three major European automotive associations, the first Chinese brand to do so. The three associations are: European Association for Electromobility (AVERE), Automobile Industry Association of the Netherlands (RAI Vereniging) and BIL Sweden.
The move marks Xpeng's long-term commitment to accelerating the electrification of Europe and adhering to a sustainable strategy, and is an important milestone in its commitment to deeper integration with the European automotive ecosystem, the company said at the time.
On April 21, Xpeng announced pre-order pricing for the P5 in Europe and announced the official opening of its direct experience store in Denmark on April 9, its third direct experience store in Europe.
However, after these efforts, Xpeng then slowed down its moves in Europe.
Local Chinese tech media outlet LatePost reported on May 26 that sales and orders for the Xpeng G3, P7 and P5 in Europe have been lackluster and the company's overseas expansion was put on hold.
He Liyang, who joined Xpeng in early 2021 to head the company's overseas markets, has left and his duties had been taken over by Jin Bin, vice president of human resources, according to the report.
Zhang Yibo, a member of He's team and vice president of marketing for overseas business, and Zhang Chuanjin, formerly Xpeng's general manager and senior director of sales for the northern region, also left, according to LatePost.
On June 22, Xpeng announced that it had suspended all P5 reservations and pre-orders in the four European countries and would shift its focus to the P7 sedan, citing foreseeable export schedule issues.
After that, there was no more news about Xpeng's moves in Europe, and the company began to face a delivery slump in China that lasted several months.
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