Guangzhou-based 'smart' electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors will be delivering its first batch of cars to European customers this week, making them directly in the region for the first time.
Looking beyond China, Xpeng is "actively exploring opportunities in EV-mature markets with supportive government policies" according to a statement released by the company earlier this week.
The EV company's first stop is Norway, where Xpeng will deliver 100 smart electric SUVs in the days before Christmas.
"Customers across 28 cities and towns in Norway will be celebrating Christmas with their new G3 in our European debut," the electric vehicle manufacturer said in a Twitter post.
The G3 SUV model has a driving range of 520 km, in addition to the company's advanced driver assistance system that includes autonomous driving and parking, with prices starting at $41,000, which is almost half the price of Tesla's SUV model X.
Xpeng plans to launch a second model - the P7 electric sports sedan - in Europe within the next 12 months as people eye climate-friendly alternatives to gas and diesel cars.
"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," Xpeng's chairperson and CEO He Xiaopeng said in a statement.
Like other electric vehicles, smart EVs run on electricity stored in a battery which owners can charge at home or at stations around the city. However, smart vehicles feature technology to assist with charging, navigation, entertainment and communication with other cars or devices.
Demand for smart and conventional EVs is high in Europe, which is now the second-largest electric vehicle market in the world according to the The International Council on Clean Transportation with more than 1.8 million such cars on the roads.
Chinese smart EVs came on the scene in 2019 when Shanghai-based Aiways became the first mainland company to display smart electric SUVs at the Geneva Motor Show.
"We will show that EVs from China can compete with the best of the world," Alexander Klose, vice president of overseas operations at the motor show, said at the time.
This year, Aiways' U5 electric SUV made its global debut to consumers and the company concluded a deal with the Italian branch of car rental business Hertz that saw 500 U5s shipped to Corsica.
China's biggest carmaker SAIC has also released a line of conventional, non-smart electric vehicles to European markets.
