Xpeng to launch UK franchised dealer offering and G6 at Automotive Management Live

This article first appeared in an October edition of AM Online.

As revealed by AM back in July this year, IM Group has now officially confirmed that it will be the UK distributor for the new Chinese brand as it looks to establish a UK retail network and launch sales with the G6 electric SUV in Q1 next year.

Attendance is free of charge for dealers and OEMs that register in advance here.

The G6 prices are yet to be confirmed, but are expected to undercut the Tesla Model Y with prices starting below £40,000. Xpeng has already undercut the Model Y in Germany by €7,000 (£5,900).

The G6 will be featured as part of E-Street at Automotive Management Live, which brings together new challenger brands like BYD, Omoda, GWM Ora and now Xpeng.

Dealers will be able to explore the new G6 and speak with IM Group's team about the Chinese brand's future ambitions for the UK market.

Xpeng has has already started sales in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany and has signed an agreement with Volkswagen Group to develop two B-segment "smart e-cars" in the future.

VW has also invested in Xpeng as part of the cooperation, with a 5% stake at around £540 million.

The ultra fast charging G6 (up to 280 kW) will be available with two battery packs (66 kWh and 87.5 kWh), the largest of which has a maximum WLTP driving range of 354 miles.

The G6 is on the latest generation of Xpeng's EV platform (SEPA2.0) and the battery can be charged from 10 to 80% in less than 20 minutes.

The coupe SUV has rear-wheel drive as standard, but the largest battery can be combined with all-wheel drive.

The RWD Standard Range delivers 190 kW/258 hp and 440 Nm, the RWD Long Range delivers 210 kW/286 hp and 440 Nm and the AWD Performance is "only for people with a strong stomach": it delivers 350 kW/476 hp and 660 Nm thanks to two electric motors, enabling it to sprint from 0 -62mph in four seconds.

The G6 has a wheelbase of 2.89 meters and a luggage compartment offering 571 litres of space.

The G6's infotainment system runs on the latest version of Xpeng's operating system Xmart OS and offers XPILOT driver assistance systems as standard.

All other functionalities can be controlled through a central high-resolution 14.96-inch screen.

Xpeng offers periodic software updates to its system that take place completely over-the-air.