CarBrandLogos archive · XPeng · 2018

XPengG3

The first car from a Chinese EV startup that had to prove it could build one.

Photo: SAIC GM sucks · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in XPeng history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the XPeng G3, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

XPeng was founded in 2014, and the G3 was the model that turned it from a plan into a manufacturer. Launched in 2018, it is a compact five-door crossover with a front motor driving the front wheels, later joined by a dual-motor four-wheel-drive version, built initially under contract at a Haima plant in Zhengzhou because XPeng did not yet have a factory of its own.

2018 Xpeng G3 · User3204 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

The car was pitched on software: over-the-air updates, a large central screen, driver assistance the company intended to develop in-house rather than buy in, and a panoramic windscreen that extended up into the roof. It was competitively priced rather than premium, and sold in useful numbers, including a modest export run to Norway that made XPeng one of the first Chinese EV startups to sell in Europe.

2018 Xpeng G3 rear · User3204 · CC BY 3.0

In production

An updated G3i followed in 2021 before the model ended in 2023. Its real function was to buy the company time and credibility for the car that mattered more, the P7.

Xpeng Identity X in Yangpu Shanghai · Evnerd · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance