- Chinese EV manufacturer Xpeng has officially launched in New Zealand.
- The company has already opened two dealerships here, with four more expected later this year.
- Xpeng is the 14th new Chinese carmaker to set up shop in New Zealand.
Chinese manufacturer Xpeng has officially launched in the New Zealand market following the opening of its first physical dealerships earlier this month. Initial dealership locations are situated in Auckland's North Shore and Christchurch, providing facilities for vehicle sales and servicing.
The company says the two dealerships represent the first stage of a nationwide rollout strategy, with additional dealerships planned for Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, and further sites in Auckland, later this year.
Damian Royce, Head of Marketing for Xpeng New Zealand, said that the January openings allow local drivers to interact with the brand’s technology firsthand.
"Opening our first dealerships has brought Xpeng’s smart AI-driven mobility vision to life for Kiwi drivers," he said.
"New Zealand has shown strong enthusiasm for innovation and sustainability, and our new dealerships now give customers the opportunity to see, touch, and experience our technology firsthand. It’s been an exciting start to 2026, and just the beginning of our nationwide expansion."
Xpeng also operates in Australia, where it is handled by a distributor, TrueEV, unlike here where it is a factory-backed operation. This is expected to change shortly, however, with the factory making moves to take the Australian operation back in-house as well.
The first New Zealand dealerships currently feature the Xpeng G6 SUV, a vehicle aimed squarley at the Tesla Model Y that is equipped with the company’s proprietary advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and an electronic architecture that supports continuous over-the-air updates.
The G6 is offered in Australia in standard and long-range models, with ranges of 427km and 570km respectively. Both models are rear-wheel drive and have 440Nm of torque, and the standard-range car offers up 190kW of power, with the long-range packing 210kW.
Pricing in Australia starts at $AU54,800 (NZ$63,650), however no official New Zealand pricing has been confirmed through reliable sources at this stage. Following on the heels of the G6 will be the X9, a large MPV.
Xpeng was originally founded in 2015 by two former GAC Group senior executives, Xia Heng and He Tao, and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China, and operates R&D centres in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, and Yangzhou, with manufacturing bases in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou.
The company also has an R&D centre in the United States and subsidiaries across multiple European countries, with in-house development of intelligent driver-assistance software and core hardware.