Xpeng Motors has begun customer deliveries of its G3 compact electric SUV in Norway. Back in September, we reported that the automaker sent its first 100 G3s to the Scandinavian country Well, the G3s have arrived, and customers are now driving them home.
All 100 Xpeng G3s are sold and are now being handed over to their new owners this week across 28 cities and towns in Norway. Xpeng tells us that the northernmost G3 delivery will be in Bodø (67°N), just north of the Arctic Circle.
In the video above, which happens to be the first episode of Fully Charged Premiere, Bjorn Nyland was tapped to take the G3 out for a spin and offer his thoughts on the vehicle. It's a nice overview, but it is important to note that the new series, Fully Charged Premiere, is not a regular Fully Charged show. The Premiere series on Fully Charged is a paid promotion, so that needs to be taken into consideration.
“This week’s customer deliveries in Norway represent a key milestone in Xpeng’s aspirations to become a truly international smart EV brand. Our launch in Europe comes just as consumers are shifting in increasingly large numbers to more sustainable personal transport, and at a tipping point where governments around the world are stepping up their zero-emission efforts. We look forward to being a significant driver in accelerating that transition.” - He Xiaopeng, CEO & Chairman of Xpeng
Nyland goes over the car's features including the user interface, voice control, charging, interior noise, and does a demonstration of the G3's self-parking feature. I had the opportunity to see a G3 do a self-parking demonstration last year when I visited Xpeng's headquarters in Guangzhou, and I can confirm it works very well. In fact, it's actually the best self-parking system that I've ever used.
More Xpeng News
Bjorn also activates the G3's Xpilot driver-assist system and explains that, like Tesla's autopilot system, XPilot continues to learn and improve. Xpeng recently announced that beginning in early 2021, Xpilot will greatly improve, because its next-generation autonomous driving architecture will include lidar technology, making Xpeng the first OEM to include lidar on a production EV.
You can tell Bjorn is genuinely impressed with the G3, as he was a few months ago when he first had the opportunity to drive a G3 in Norway. Unlike the vehicle he drives in this video, that G3 still had the user interface in the Chinese language.
The list price for the G3 in Norway starts at 358,000 NKr (EUR 33,700 - $41,000 US ) and has a WLTP range rating of 451 km (280 miles). That would translate to roughly 240-250 miles on the EPA range rating and the G3 is a direct competitor for the RAV4 Prime PHEV and the Volkswagen ID.4.
Gallery: Xpeng G3 Customer deliveries begin in Norway
In case anyone was wondering if Xpeng has its sights set on more than just China and Norway, Dr. Brian Gu, Vice Chairman & President of Xpeng clearly laid that question to rest:
"We believe smart EVs are global products, and Xpeng aims to be a global leader in smart EVs. That's why, while we focus on (the) Chinese market currently, we have aspirations to explore international markets" Dr. Brian Gu, Vice Chairman & President of Xpeng
The P7 is on the way
Xpeng is "exploring opportunities" in other EV-mature markets with supportive government policies, advanced charging infrastructure, and high EV awareness. Xpeng is also planning to launch its second production model, the P7 electric sports sedan, in Europe within the next 12 months.
Xpeng hasn't announced any plans to export its vehicles to the US, but they did bring a P7 here in September when the company entered the New York stock exchange. InsideEVs was the first of only three news outlets that were allowed to test drive the P7 while it was here.
Check out the video and let us know what you think. Would you be interested in the XPeng G3 if it were available in your market (it may soon be)? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Source: fullychargedshow