‘Tesla Clone’ Xpeng Starts Deliveries of Its EVs in Europe

  • Controversial Chinese EV maker Xpeng has announced the arrival of its new G3 electric SUV in Norway with nearly 100 units said to have arrived in the region.
  • The company has already commenced deliveries in the country and is likely to expand to nearby neighboring regions.
  • Xpeng has been accused of copying several aspects of Tesla’s automobiles including design and features like Autopilot.

Chinese automaker Xpeng has come under fire previously for blatantly using some of Tesla’s unique features, including design, and to a large extent, intellectual property. Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went as far as to say that Xpeng stole some of its Autopilot source code while adding that Xpeng has also stolen some of Apple’s code.

Well, Xpeng has now become one of China’s first EV startups to start deliveries of its EV outside the region. Norway has just received a shipment of 100 new Xpeng G3 electric SUVs which will eventually be delivered to the customers. The Xpeng G3 will cost 358,000 NOK which is the equivalent of $41,400 or €33,900, making this a decent mid-range SUV.

Xpeng G3
The Xpeng G3

CEO and Chairman of Xpeng, He Xiaopeng elaborated on what the arrival of the G3 in Europe means for the company:

“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.”

It will be interesting to see what Tesla makes of this. It’s clear that Xpeng currently has no intentions to make its way to the U.S. markets. Among the features that Xpeng was accused to have stolen from Tesla include the source code for Tesla Autopilot, a landmark feature that enhances driving significantly while also taking care of the driver’s safety.

Xpeng has managed to mimic the Autopilot feature with its new G3 SUV while also using nearly the same cluster user interface design as Tesla EVs. Recently, Xpeng went a step further and copied Tesla’s website design for the product page of its new EV sedan, the P7.

What do you make of the Xpeng G3 SUV?

Via: Electrek