XPeng accelerates its overseas expansion

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Chai Xuchen

The domestic automotive market is fiercely competitive, with various car manufacturers emphasizing their global positioning and taking concrete actions.

On February 22, XPeng shipped its first batch of 300 right-hand drive X9 vehicles to the global market. These cars will mainly be sent to Southeast Asian markets, represented by Thailand, which is one of the important destinations for domestic car manufacturers like XPeng to go abroad.

According to Gu Hongdi, Vice Chairman and Co-President of XPeng, the current penetration rate of electric vehicles in the ASEAN region is relatively low, but the market is growing rapidly, and new products can quickly enter and be widely accepted. ASEAN will undoubtedly become one of the core markets in the future.

Since the first shipment of 100 G3 models to Europe in 2020, XPeng's globalization strategy has gone through five years, coinciding with the five years of rapid expansion of Chinese automotive exports. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, last year, China's passenger car export volume reached 4.955 million units, a year-on-year increase of 19.7%.

Among this nearly 5 million volume, although fuel vehicles still play a major role, the export of over 1 million new energy vehicles and the continuous growth trend, along with vast potential blank markets, are attracting companies like XPeng and BYD to explore opportunities.

By last year, XPeng's overseas sales were about 24,000 units, accounting for 13% of XPeng's total annual sales. Although in terms of volume, it is difficult to compare with experienced exporters like Chery, Geely, and BYD, it has already become a benchmark for new forces going abroad, ranking first in export volume among Chinese new force brands in 2024 and first in mid-to-high-end pure electric exports among Chinese brands.

In Europe, XPeng is not only the first new force brand in the world to achieve 10,000 deliveries but also frequently tops the sales charts for new force brands in markets such as the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.

This year, XPeng aims to cover 60 countries and regions and establish over 300 overseas service outlets. By 2027, XPeng aims to be among the top three in global new energy exports, with half of its sales coming from overseas by 2033.

With such intense domestic competition, the level of competition when car manufacturers flock abroad is naturally evident. To this end, XPeng has also begun comprehensive preparations for going abroad, such as laying out supercharging facilities and intelligent driving overseas.

It is well known that one of the constraints for car manufacturers going abroad is the relatively weak infrastructure in foreign countries, with the limited number of charging stations deterring many consumers interested in electric vehicles.

In XPeng's overseas strategy, in addition to selling cars abroad, it is also accelerating the layout of overseas supercharging. Following consecutive agreements with major giants Volkswagen and BP, Chairman He Xiaopeng revealed that in the first half of 2025, XPeng's supercharging network will first be established in Hong Kong and Bangkok, Thailand, and will engage in deep cooperation with local mainstream partners.

XPeng is transitioning from "product export" to "charging technology export," further accelerating the process of brand globalization. Early layout in areas like charging and continuous brand building also allows for an earlier advantage in energy replenishment, preparing for longer-term fierce competition In the future, XPeng's overseas plan will also include intelligent driving expansion. As early as last year's intelligent driving press conference, He Xiaopeng announced plans to develop intelligent driving for overseas markets. Recently, XPeng stated that in 2026, "Turing AI Intelligent Driving" will be globally adapted, bringing China's ten years of intelligent driving experience to the world.

He Xiaopeng expressed the hope of bringing China's stronger intelligent driving capabilities to the global market, aiming for overseas car owners to have a profound impression of "intelligence and technological leadership" when they first encounter Chinese new energy vehicles.

In terms of the current situation, although domestic car companies have nearly made intelligent driving a universal phenomenon, for foreign users, the experience of intelligent driving is still limited to a few countries and certain users. Taking Thailand as an example, some users have expressed that they are envied by those around them because their purchased Chinese new energy vehicle can preemptively turn on the air conditioning via an app. This shows that users are very willing to spend on intelligent solutions that address real-life pain points.

XPeng's journey overseas reflects the collective breakthrough of China's new energy industry—from early "product exports" to "technology + ecosystem" exports, from single-point breakthroughs to comprehensive layouts. The industry has now entered a critical stage of exporting industrial chains and ecosystems.

However, globalization is not a smooth path. Car companies like XPeng need to balance risks during rapid expansion, avoiding common impacts such as price wars in domestic competition, while also being wary of potential shocks from geopolitical issues and trade barriers. Although many places have policy support for electric vehicles, there have also been numerous tariff challenges since last year.

Currently, China has entered the second half of intelligent driving, but many overseas markets still primarily consist of fuel vehicles and a small number of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are accelerating, and the overall growth in foreign markets is stable with broad prospects. However, whether success in the domestic market can be replicated overseas will depend on the depth of the technological moat, the precision of localization, and the breadth of ecosystem collaboration.

At present, although XPeng has returned to the position of sales champion among new forces, whether this is sustainable is still uncertain, as long-term competition has only just begun. In the game of who can survive to the end, it is not a competition with limited participants, but rather a contest against car companies that sell millions of vehicles annually.

In this brutal elimination competition, XPeng clearly needs a larger scale. Currently, this scale still largely relies on the domestic market. This year, XPeng plans to launch a new or updated vehicle each quarter, and whether these vehicles can replicate the success of XPeng MONA M03 and XPeng P7+ to continue contributing incremental growth is particularly crucial.

After all, only with a continuously growing scale and achieving profitability as scheduled can XPeng's stories of globalization, AI intelligent driving, humanoid robots, flying cars, and more be better supported