First Xpengs land in Norway as the Chinese EV maker prepares for European expansion

Chinese EV maker, Xpeng, has delivered the first batch of its new vehicle to customers in Europe.

One hundred drivers in Norway received their new G3s, Xpeng’s all-electric SUV, recently, Bloomberg reports.

In an interview with the news outlet, company president and chairman Brian Gu said Xpeng is going to spend the next 12 months laying the groundwork for sales in its next European country.

[Read: Why AI is the future of home security]

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

The EV maker is not saying anything for definite about where it will go next, though.

However, given that it’s launched in Norway, Europe’s leading EV market, it wouldn’t be surprising if it went after other European nations where EVs are already quite popular — think Netherlands, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark.

Xpeng does recognize that if it’s going to become a successful EV company, it needs to operate on a global scale. So far, its vehicles have only been offered to its domestic market.

The Guangzhou-based EV maker has worked with a local distributor to bring its vehicles to Norway. It’s a model that it may use in other European nations, so unlike other EV companies it may sell through a third-party rather than direct.

SHIFT has contacted Xpeng and its Norwegian distributor for comment, we’ll update this piece as we hear more.

You might not have heard of Xpeng before, if you live outside of China you probably haven’t. But it’s one of a crop of Chinese electric carmakers, like NIO and BYD, that are expanding beyond their own shores and are gaining interest around the world.

The most alluring thing about Chinese EVs is their relatively low cost to buy, compared to other EV brands.

The Xpeng P7 costs about $6,000 less thank its Tesla Model 3 rival. While things like long term durability and build quality are yet to reveal themselves, the low entry cost could be enough to get a whole load more people interested in electric motoring.