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text｜li anqi

editor: li qin and yang xuan

in the fierce competition, car companies have few chips to stimulate sales except competing on price and intelligence. increasing the energy form of vehicles is becoming another option for car companies.

36kr has learned from long-term follow-up that xpeng motors' extended-range vehicle project has become clear. the core components have been designated in the first half of this year. the first extended-range vehicle is under full development and is expected to be mass-produced in the second half of 2025.

"no later than the fourth quarter of next year," a source revealed, by which time xiaopeng will have formed two major product arrays: pure electric and extended-range.

according to 36kr, xiaopeng's first extended-range vehicle will be a large suv with an internal project codenamed g01. it is "developed based on the g9 prototype and is mainly aimed at the price range of more than 200,000 yuan." the first car will be mass-produced and rolled off the assembly line at xiaopeng motors' second factory in guangzhou huangpu.

36kr learned from the supply chain that xiaopeng motors' first range extender vehicle has been ordered from dong'an power. dong'an power previously provided range extender components for ideal auto.

regarding the above news, 36kr confirmed with xpeng motors, and the official said that "more information will be shared with friends on technology day 1024."

not only xiaopeng motors, but also zeekr motors, avita, zhiji, aion, etc. have announced the launch of extended-range vehicles this year. xiaomi motors has also been reported to be planning to launch extended-range suv models. the two power forms of pure electric and large-battery plug-in hybrid (including extended-range) have gradually become a consensus among automakers.

among domestic automobile companies, nio is almost the only one that still sticks to the pure electric position. relying on battery swapping and other energy replenishment facilities, the company has maintained a monthly sales of 20,000 vehicles this year. the company plans to continue to increase battery swapping and other energy replenishment services, and it is expected to build 5,000 battery swap stations across the country by the end of 2025.

however, in the current era of scarce resources and fierce competition, many car companies no longer have the resources or time to build similar energy replenishment systems at high intensity. choosing extended-range or hybrid vehicles naturally becomes a key way to expand sales.

xiaopeng accelerates production of extended-range

extended-range vehicles have always been a topic that xiaopeng motors rarely talks about. an xiaopeng motors employee told 36kr that there are actually relevant teams internally that have been researching extended-range vehicle solutions. "some research started two years ago, but the top management may not have made up their minds."

but since this year, xpeng motors' attitude towards extended-range vehicles has gradually become clear.

ceo he xiaopeng has publicly talked about extended-range vehicles several times. in the first quarter earnings conference call this year, he xiaopeng said that customers have real demand for hybrids. from a technical perspective, the difficulty of going from extended-range to pure electric is much higher than going from pure electric to extended-range. the current extended-range solution has encountered experience challenges, and xiaopeng is also thinking about what the next generation of extended-range vehicles will look like.

in addition, the sales of extended-range models of peers such as ideal and wenjie have been rising, and pure electric brands such as zeekr and avita are also launching extended-range models one after another. an insider said that after comprehensive evaluation, xiaopeng’s management has reached a consensus: "the market ceiling for extended-range products is still very high, and the return on investment is not a problem."

another person familiar with the matter revealed that he xiaopeng told internal staff that they did not want a transitional extended-range technology solution and placed very high demands on the technology of extended-range products, saying that he "hopes to lead the industry when it is launched."

after officially placing an order for dong’an power’s range extender this year, xiaopeng has accelerated the development of range-extended vehicles.

recently, ceo he xiaopeng said at the launch celebration of the 150,000 yuan new car mona m03 that xiaopeng will release new cars in the next five quarters. an insider revealed that the new cars released in the five quarters will include extended-range models.

normally, it takes 18 to 24 months for a car company to develop a new energy vehicle. xpeng's extended-range vehicle is being developed at an accelerated pace, aiming to reach mass production by the end of next year.

in addition to product development, xpeng is also preparing for the production and manufacturing of extended-range models. the environmental protection disclosure document for the second phase of xpeng motors' guangzhou plant shows that the base can produce 300,000 sets of new energy vehicle body parts per year, including the production capacity of two pure electric models and one plug-in hybrid model, with a production capacity of 100,000 sets of parts for all three models.

the document shows that the total investment in the second phase of xiaopeng's guangzhou factory is as high as 1.2 billion yuan, and the construction period of the entire project is 18 months.

extended range, another fulcrum for boosting sales

although the extended-range route has been criticized as a "backward route" in the past, its driving experience comparable to that of pure electric vehicles and advantages such as no mileage anxiety have allowed more and more users to see the strengths of extended-range vehicles.

but this is not the only reason why car companies are developing extended-range vehicles.

from a cost perspective, battery cell costs have fallen below 0.4 yuan/wh due to battery manufacturers' low-price sales, but a 60-kwh battery pack still costs around 40,000 yuan; while a relatively good range extender costs only around 10,000 yuan, plus a 30-kwh battery pack, it still has a cost advantage over pure electric vehicles. this is also the reason why pure electric vehicles in the mid-to-high-end market are generally tens of thousands of yuan more expensive than range extenders.

in addition to cost advantages, range-extended vehicles are also developing in the direction of large batteries and ultra-fast charging, solving the pain points of slow charging in the past. for example, catl has launched a special "shenxing super hybrid battery" with a pure electric range of 300 kilometers and supports 3c fast charging; battery manufacturers such as eve energy and honeycomb energy are also following suit. the configuration of "large battery + small range extension" is gaining favor among car companies.

in terms of the market, users have given the most direct feedback. in the first half of this year, domestic sales of new energy vehicles reached 4.944 million units, of which 3.019 million were pure electric vehicles, up 11.6% year-on-year; and 1.922 million were plug-in hybrid vehicles (including extended-range vehicles), up 85.2% year-on-year.

from a global perspective, the enthusiasm for electric vehicles in the european and american markets is also declining, and they are more inclined to hybrid models. xiaopeng hopes that its overseas sales will account for 50% of its sales in the next 10 years. if it relies solely on pure electric models to achieve this goal, it will be a big challenge.

"behind the increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is the conversion of a large number of fuel vehicle users. it is still difficult for them to directly buy pure electric vehicles." an industry insider analyzed to 36kr that extended-range or large-battery hybrid products are a good choice. "compared with fuel vehicles, the experience of extended-range vehicles is almost an upgrade."

for xpeng, betting on a single pure electric product does pose a high risk. in the first half of this year, xpeng motors' average monthly sales were less than 15,000 vehicles.

competitors with range extenders or fuel tanks have captured more sales. with both pure electric and range extender models, huawei wenjie and ideal auto currently have monthly sales of more than 40,000 units; leapmotor, known as the "little ideal", has sold more than 30,000 units in august this year.

with the arrival of the extended-range model, xiaopeng has undoubtedly gained another fulcrum to boost sales. "xpeng motors' mission is to popularize automotive ai and intelligence, and ultimately achieve autonomous driving. at this time, the choice of power is aimed at expanding sales," said an xiaopeng insider.

accelerating the launch of extended-range vehicles and grabbing market share and profits as soon as possible may be one of the core tasks of xiaopeng motors at present.