China’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) startup Xpeng has launched its first budget mass-market model, the M03, under its new Mona brand at an event in Beijing - as the company stepped up its drive into new markets and product segments.
The Mona M03 passenger car is designed to compete with compact models from Tesla and BYD in global markets, and with prices ranging between CNY119,800 and CNY135,900 (US$17,850-US$19,100) it undercuts the Tesla Model 3 by a significant margin.
The basic version of the Mona M03 has a driving range of 515 km and has some parking assist features, while the top variant has a range of 620 km.
US Nasdaq and Hong-Kong-listed Xpeng confirmed it had received 10,000 orders for the M03 within the first hour of the model’s formal launch on Tuesday. The company delivered 52,000 vehicles globally in the first half of 2024 – up 26% year-on-year.
Xpeng’s founder and CEO, He Xiaopeng, confirmed this week his company is in the initial stages of searching for a production site in Europe, after the European Union confirmed it will apply impose import tariffs of up to 38% on China-made BEVs.
