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- Xpeng just revealed the pricing for its P5 electric sedan, which starts at $24,670.
- Tesla's Model 3 sedan starts at $38,700 in China.
- China is the world's largest car market and accounted for a fifth of Telsa's revenues last year.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
One of Tesla's closest rivals in China has revealed the pricing for its new electric sedan – and it's undercutting Tesla's Model 3 by more than a third.
Xpeng will sell six versions of its upcoming P5, priced between 160,000 yuan ($24,670) and 230,000 yuan ($38,550) after subsidies. Tesla's Model 3, by comparison, costs from 250,900 yuan ($38,700) in China after subsidies, with a higher-end version priced at 339,900 yuan ($52,400).
China is the world's largest car market and demand for electric vehicles is booming thanks in large part to generous government subsidies for "green" cars.
Tesla made around a fifth of its global revenues in China last year but it's facing increasing competition from local rivals such as Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng.
Xpeng says the P5 is semi-autonomous with 32 perception sensors, including 13 high-definition cameras alongside light detection and ranging (Lidar) technology, which uses lasers to measure the distance, shape, and orientation of objects.
The P5 has a top speed of 105.6 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 7.5 seconds. Its estimated cruising range starts at 286 miles, rising to 373 miles for the more expensive models.
Xpeng launched pre-orders for the P5 in April and said that it expects to start deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The P5 is Xpeng's second sedan. It started deliveries of its pricier sports sedan, the P7, in June 2020. It also sells the G3, a long-range smart SUV.
The P5 pricing announcement from Xpeng comes as Elon Musk's electric vehicle giant Tesla struggles in China.
Tesla suffered a huge sales hit in China in April after a string of crises. These included a meeting with Chinese regulators over quality issues like unintended acceleration and battery fires, reports that Chinese officials had restricted the use of Teslas among government personnel over their built-in cameras, and a protest at the Shanghai auto show because of apparent quality-control issues related to the automaker's brakes.
Tesla's sales bounced back in May - but it then had to recall 285,000 cars in June for a remote software update because drivers were accidentally turning on its Autopilot feature.
While Tesla is struggling with its reputation in China, Xpeng is reporting record growth.
Xpeng said that it delivered 30,738 vehicles between January and June, an increase of 459% year-over-year, including record monthly deliveries of 6,565 vehicles in June. This was made up of 4,730 P7s and 1,835 G3s.