OK, so what is Xpeng? its the newest and latest electric car manufacture from China. The company cofounded Xiz Heng in 2014 and He Tao, former senior executives at GAC Group with expertise in automotive technology and R&D. Initial backers included He Xiaopeng (now Chairman of Xpeng), founder of UCWeb and former Alibaba executive, and Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi. Prominent Chinese and international investors included Alibaba, Foxconn and IDG Capital. A further funding round in 2018 saw Alibaba’s vice president Joseph Tsai join the corporate board of Xpeng.

Ok, so we have established Xpeng is loaded with cash and fronted by cash-rich Chinese super corporations. The company has just launched its first car, the Xpeng P7 with prices starting from £26,138 for entry-level models and £38,648 for higher-spec models. The Xpeng P7 is a Tesla Model S competitor for half the price. It comes loaded with a Level 3 semi-autonomous driving system and voice recognition and premium options.

You get Nappa leather seats (optional) ambient lighting and premium audio, and more options besides. The Xpeng P7 is powered by single or dual electric motors, dependent on model trim. The 80.9kWh battery is good for 353 miles in entry-level trim and up to 439 miles in long-range trim. While performance figures are not known we do know the P7 does the 0-62 mile dash in 4.3 seconds in standard trim. If that matters to you.

Charging the Xpeng P7 takes 28 minutes to go from 30-percent to 80-percent, so long as you use a fast-charging supply. The P7 looks and sounds familiar, it even has a curved glass roof. Just like a Tesla Model S. But what isn’t familiar is that the P7 is competitively priced, unlike a Tesla Model S.

The Xpeng is only available to order in China, it is not known if it will ever be sold to international territories.