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Not content to just offer up electric cars, XPeng will also soon bring to market range extender electric vehicles in a bid to gain traction in markets with low EV uptake such as Australia.
Chinese electric car brand XPeng will broaden its powertrain portfolio with range extender electric vehicles (REEVs) coming to market from next year, with an Australian arrival highly likely.
Confirmed for a 2026 arrival in global markets at the XPeng Global Brand Night in Hong Kong, the XPeng’s REEV engines will be the brand’s first to use petrol – albeit only to recharge the batteries that will power the electric motors to drive the wheels.
XPeng is yet to lock in which models the REEV engine will debut, but it will likely be offered first in its G9 large SUV, the brand’s General Manager of E-powertrain Jacky Gu explained the reasoning behind expanding from purely battery electric vehicles (BEV).
Legacy car makers, such as Toyota and Hyundai, favour parallel hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains because they improve the efficiency of petrol engines, Gu told international media.
Whereas a range extender maximises the effectiveness of an electric motor and battery system by boosting driving range, according to Gu.
As for what petrol engine XPeng will utilise in its new powertrain, Gu would not be drawn on displacement size when asked by Drive, but said a commercial agreement is already in place with a supplier and revealed its new technology is targeting an all-electric and combined ranges of 430km and 1400km respectively.
“For the engine stuff we are partnering with our engine supplier, but we work with them closely,” Gu said.
“They disclose a lot of their in-house designs, calculations of the engine control systems.
“We are working with them by leveraging their capability to improve our fuel economy, NVH, performance.”
Gu confirmed the partner is Dongan, a Chinese engine supplier that also works with Li Auto to supply the brand with engines for its range-extender vehicles.
XPeng are not the only Chinese brand exploring range-extenders as Leapmotor recently launched a version of its C10 mid-size SUV with the same powertrain technology it expects will be its best-seller.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
