On August 26, 2024, Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng Motors showcased its mass market Mona M03 coupe at the showroom of its headquarters in Guangzhou, China.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
Beijing – China Electric Vehicle Company Xpeng Motors announced on Tuesday that its mass-market Mona brand will begin selling some models for less than $17,000.
The base version of the Mona M03 electric coupe is priced at 119,800 yuan ($16,812) and has a driving range of 515 kilometers (320 miles) and some parking assist features.
Mona M03 is equipped with more advanced “Max” driving assistance functions, has a cruising range of 580 kilometers, and is priced at 155,800 yuan.
In contrast, Tesla’s After price cuts in April, the Model 3, China’s cheapest car, is priced at 231,900 yuan.
Xpeng Motors CEO He Xiaopeng did not specify a launch date for the standard version of the car in a speech on Tuesday. Mass deliveries will begin shortly after Tuesday’s announcement, the company told investors on an earnings call last week.
Mona M03 pre-sales begin on August 8th.
Mona M03 standard driver assistance systems support parking, including parallel parking. The company says it uses a series of automated sensors, cameras, and light detection and ranging sensors.
Driving assistance features on the Max version include the ability to automatically reverse the car to a designated location in a dead-end street at the push of a button. Xpeng Motors also plans to support remote control of entry and exit into narrow parking spaces.
CEO Mr. Ho said deliveries of the Max version will begin after the Lunar New Year holiday in 2025. Chinese holidays run from the end of January to the beginning of February next year.
Xpeng Motors’ driver assistance technology is widely regarded as one of the best in China right now. TeslaThe version it bills as “fully self-driving” is not yet fully available in China, although it is widely expected to be released in the coming months.
Xpeng CEO’s speech on Tuesday also commemorated Xpeng’s 10th anniversary. Lei Jun, founder of Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi, was also in attendance
CEO He said that the Mona brand represents “Made of new AI”. He emphasized that in the next ten years, Xpeng Motors will focus on developing automotive artificial intelligence.
The company also said on Tuesday it plans to launch a second-generation humanoid robot in October. It also showed off its own wafers but did not specify what nanoprocesses or production technology levels were used in their manufacture.
China’s premium electric vehicle startup Nioh In late July, it was stated that Design completed 5nm automotive grade chip NX9031. The company revealed the chip in December and plans to use it in its high-end ET9 sedan, which is due to be delivered in 2025.
Cooperate with Didi
Xpeng Motors use It acquired technology from ride-hailing company Didi in August 2023.
Mona project manager Wu Zhefeng told reporters on Monday that the basic version of the M03’s driving assistance technology comes from Didi, while the more advanced version is made by Xpeng Motors.
Since batteries are the most expensive part of an electric vehicle, Xpeng was able to reduce costs for the Mona in part because of efforts to improve energy efficiency, he said. Coupe adopts BYDThe popular “blade battery,” Wu said.
He said the brand mainly targets young people two to three years after graduation.
Wu said nearly half of similar cars in this price range in China are used for ride-hailing services. While electric vehicle companies such as BYD have partnered with Didi to market their cars to drivers on the ride-hailing platform, he said Mona will remain focused on consumer driving.
BYD has quickly become a giant in China’s electric vehicle industry, selling cars of all prices and models, including many hybrid versions. Chinese consumers are increasingly favoring hybrids over battery-only vehicles because they are anxious about how far they can travel on a single charge.
Geely’s electric vehicle company Zekel It was announced earlier this month that its first hybrid would be launched next year.
Other Chinese companies have also launched cars this year that compete directly with them Tesla.
NiohThe company, which focuses on high-end electric vehicles, announced the launch of low-priced brand Onvo in May. Deliveries of its first car, the L60 SUV, will begin in September. According to prices announced in May, the L60 starts at 219,900 yuan ($30,439), while the Model Y starts at 249,900 yuan ($34,617).
Chinese smartphone companies MilletAt the same time, the first electric vehicle SU7 sedan was released in March, priced at 215,900 yuan.
—CNBC’s Sonia Heng contributed to this report.
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