"I don't want to build a China-only company, I want to build a global company," Xpeng CEO said.
After restarting its international expansion earlier this year, Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) plans to significantly ramp up the effort next year.
"We expect to enter dozens of countries next year, mostly developed countries," Xpeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said in an interview with CGTN, according to a video yesterday.
Xpeng has already launched the P7 and G9 in several European countries and is entering Israel, Mr. He said, adding that the second half of 2023 is version 2.0 of the company's efforts to expand into overseas markets.
In 2024, in addition to its flagship sedan, the P7, and flagship SUV, the G9, Xpeng will also bring its new SUV, the G6, to overseas markets, Mr. He said.
"I expect to bring the best self-driving experience in China to the global market by 2025, two years from now," Mr. He said, adding, " I don't want to build a China-only company, I want to build a global company."
He added that Xpeng does not want to rely on efficiency and cost to win when expanding into overseas markets, but wants to show customers in other countries a different kind of tech product.
"I think China is one of the best countries in the world to combine high-quality hardware with software," Mr. He said.
On July 26, German auto giant Volkswagen announced plans to invest $700 million in Xpeng and co-develop EVs.
Mr. He said in the interview that he expects the partnership with Volkswagen to help Xpeng expand internationally and move faster and better in the process.
"I think China's auto industry must go overseas, and just becoming bigger is not really strong," Mr. He said.
Xpeng placed a lot of emphasis on the European market early last year and made a series of moves there, including allowing local consumers to pre-order the P5 sedan on March 10, 2022 in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
However, on June 22 last year, Xpeng announced that it was suspending all P5 bookings and pre-orders in the four European countries and would shift its focus to the P7 sedan, citing foreseeable export timeline issues.
After that, there was no more news about Xpeng's moves in Europe until earlier this year.
On February 3, Xpeng introduced the P7 and G9 to the European market, marking the resumption of its efforts to expand in Europe.
On July 10, Xpeng announced that it had entered into a strategic partnership with one of Israel's largest car dealer groups, Freesbe, previously known as Carasso Motors, which will develop Xpeng's sales and service network in the Middle Eastern country.
"We have seen the huge potential of Israel EV market and would like to bring local customers a new level of sophistication with our leading technologies and premium EV products," Eric Xu, vice president of international marketing at Xpeng, said at the time.
Xpeng's re-emphasis on the importance of international expansion comes as the company reverses its weak sales performance over the past year, with the G6 beginning to make significant contributions.
The company launched the G6 in China on June 29 and began deliveries of the model on July 10. Xpeng management expects the model, a Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y competitor, to see monthly sales of more than 10,000 units in the future.
Xpeng delivered 11,008 vehicles in July, up 27.70 percent from 8,620 in June, although it was 4.48 percent lower than the same month last year. It was its sixth sequential increase in its monthly deliveries, after the figure fell to 5,218 vehicles in January this year.
The G6 delivered more than 3,900 units in July -- the month when deliveries of the model began.
Strong sales of the G6 drove a surge in showroom visits, which in turn increased customer enthusiasm for other Xpeng models and the advanced smart technologies they come equipped with, Xpeng said on August 1 when it announced its July sales figures.
