Xpeng P5 price starts at $ 24,700, vs. Tesla Model 3 in China

GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese automaker Xpeng Inc. has priced its new P5 sedan at 160,000 yuan ($ 24,694) days after Tesla launched a cheaper version of its Model Y sport utility vehicle

Xpeng’s aggressive pricing comes as the Chinese EV market continues to heat up with a growing number of players.

The P5 – Xpeng’s third production model and the second sedan after the P7 – launched earlier this year. There are six different versions of the car with different specifications, and the prices range from 160,000 yuan to 230,000 yuan.

Xpeng’s P7 sedan starts from 229,900 yuan after subsidies. Tesla’s Model 3 starts at 250,900 yuan in China.

The Guangzhou-based company is using Lidar, or light sensing and ranging technology, in the P5 to boost some of its semi-autonomous driving functionality. Lidar uses laser beams to map the surrounding environment and measure the distance to objects to help the car determine obstacles in its path.

Four of the six P5 models are equipped with Lidar and Xpeng Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS) called XPILOT.

Xpeng is one of the many players in China’s electric vehicle industry, which spans from established automakers to start-ups.

Tesla, which has faced weeks of bad press in China, this month introduced a cheaper version of its Model Y SUV with shorter range, which starts at 276,000 yuan after subsidies.

Xpeng delivered 17,398 vehicles in the second quarter of the year, an increase of 439% year-on-year. The company hopes the P5 can help it continue to grow sales in a new price segment.

This month, Xpeng, already listed in New York, achieved a so-called dual primary listing in Hong Kong and raised 14.02 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.8 billion dollars).