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Xpeng Introduces Mona Brand to Target Mass-Market Buyers and Compete with BYD

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Xpeng launches the Mona sub-brand to compete with BYD and appeal to mass-market consumers. The Mona brand's initial model is the M03 pure electric small automobile. Xpeng intends to grow its market share by catering to budget-conscious customers.


The business has announced the debut of its first Mona model, the M03 pure electric compact sedan, which will include sophisticated features. However, specifics about the car's driving range and amount of automation have not been revealed.


With the launch of the Mona brand, Xpeng hopes to appeal to budget-conscious clients and expand its market share. Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consulting firm Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service, indicated that Xpeng's success with Mona will be critical to attaining this goal. The official launch of the Mona brand is scheduled for late July, along with the release of the growth strategy and development plan for the product lineup.


During an EV forum in Beijing earlier this year, He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of Xpeng, revealed that Mona models will be equipped with autonomous driving systems and will be priced between 100,000 yuan (US$13,785) and 150,000 yuan. He also emphasised the company's ambition of evolving Mona cars into completely autonomous vehicles in the future while keeping prices comparable, as Xpeng continues to make technology advances and improve production efficiency.


Xpeng, together with Nio and Li Auto, is regarded as one of China's strongest competitors to Tesla, the country's current market leader. Xpeng's previous models already have self-navigation capabilities in numerous Chinese cities thanks to its unique Navigation Guided Pilot system. However, human involvement is still required in some cases. Currently, Xpeng's smart EVs are priced beyond 200,000 yuan.


The Mona brand will compete directly with BYD's plug-in hybrid and completely electric vehicles, which start as low as 79,800 yuan. BYD, situated in Shenzhen, is the world's largest EV manufacturer and reported a 62.3% year-on-year rise in electric vehicle deliveries, reaching 3.02 million in 2023. In comparison, Xpeng sold 141,601 units last year, representing a 17% increase from 2022.


Following in the footsteps of Nio, which recently debuted its more economical Onvo brand, Xpeng intends to capitalise on the demand for low-cost electric vehicles. Nio presently produces luxury EVs that cost more than 300,000 yuan. The L60 SUV, the first model under the Onvo brand, starts at 219,900 yuan, which is 12% less than Tesla's domestically built Model Y. The L60 has a driving range of 555 km, which matches that of the Model Y.


The advent of low-cost battery-powered cars has accelerated China's move from petrol to electric vehicles. Currently, battery-powered vehicles account for almost 40% of all new automobile sales in China. BYD has announced an upgraded version of its plug-in hybrid technology, which has an astounding driving range of 2,100 km. Entry-level vehicles equipped with this technology cost less than 100,000 yuan.


According to Fitch Ratings' November prediction, China's EV sector would see a 20% sales increase this year, compared to 37% in 2023.

 
  • Xpeng introduces the Mona sub-brand to target mass-market buyers and compete with BYD.

  • The M03 pure electric compact sedan is the first model under the Mona brand.

  • Xpeng aims to increase market share by catering to budget-conscious customers.


Source: SCMP

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