Chinese EV Competition Heats Up: Rival Xpeng Prices P5 EV Thousands Cheaper Than Tesla

The electric car rivalry is heating up as Tesla’s (TSLA) Chinese EV competitor Xpeng (XPEV) has put a cheaper price tag on its new all-electric P5 sedan than Tesla’s line of EVs being sold in China.

The starting price of the P5 is 160,000 yuan ($24,694), CNBC reported.

The EV has six configurations that range in price up to 230,000 yuan ($35,443), the news outlet said. The P5 debuted earlier in 2021 and is the third electric vehicle in Xpeng’s lineup, which also includes the P7 sedan and G3 SUV.

The P7 starts at 229,000 yuan ($35,289) after subsidies, and the G3 has a starting price of 149,800 yuan ($23,084) also after subsidies, according to Xpeng’s website.

Tesla’s Model 3 has a price tag in China of 250,900 yuan ($38,664), according to its website. The Model 3 comes in two variations – Standard and Performance models. The Performance model is priced at 339,900 yuan ($52,379).

The news of Xpeng undercutting Tesla comes just days after Tesla introduced a cheaper version of its electric Model Y SUV that costs 276,000 yuan ($42,532) after subsidies and has a shorter driving range, CNBC reported.

Xpeng announced on July 1 that it delivered 6,565 vehicles in June, which it said was a record month with a 617% increase year-over-year. For the second quarter, the Chinese automaker has delivered 17,398 total vehicles, up 439% year-over-year. A total of 30,738 units have been delivered year-to-date, up 459%, the company said.

In early July, Xpeng, which is headquartered in Guangzhou, China, dual-listed on the Hong Kong exchange, raising 14.02 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.8 billion). The company was already listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tesla announced on July 2 that it delivered 201,250 vehicles for the second quarter of 2021. It delivered 1,890 Model S EVs and 199,360 Model 3 sedans. The company does not break down deliveries by country.

Shares of Xpeng were trading at $38.28 as of premarket hours on Monday, down 75 cents, or 1.92%, while shares of Tesla were trading $633.85, down $10.37, or 1.61% at the same time.