Xpeng G6

One thing that Europe is most certainly not used to is the pace of model changes / facelifts in China. If a new model doesn't sell approx 200,000 units on the first day, it is deemed a failure essentially. If a new model doesn't sell well, it will be discontinued. Very different metrics to Europe.

Driving it last week. Some "quirks and features"

Is there any indication that the facelift version is going to be coming to Ireland/RHD models at all?

It must be a candidate for ugliest steering wheel ever fitted to a car in the past 20 years. I can't think of a steering wheel in recent memory that made me dislike a car so much.

Thanks for the comment, as mentioned no official word of it coming to Ireland/RHD markets

I've the standard range in a few weeks for a range test and will mention it in that video. I've also added a note in the description of this video

Test drove the G6 today from MSL Deansgrange. Booking the test drive online was smooth, could have booked for that same day. Showroom was good, staff were friendly and inviting, the quick demo was professional. The first impressions were that the build quality is very good, consistent panel gaps, ergonomics / software / minimalism were a near carbon copy from Tesla. The feel inside the cabin is more upmarket than the outgoing Tesla Model Y

A few bad points which aren't really important to me: no frunk, no glove box, the interior has a bad mismatch from the front of the front door into the dash, with the door nearly half an inch out of line. The rear cupholders in the centre console move with the rear right seat, so if you recline that, you will spill your drink 😂 Also I'm about 6'1-6'2 with shortish legs for my height and the driving position was only just ok with the seat all the way back. If you have long legs, you have a problem. Loads of space behind myself in the back though

Car drove very well, stark difference in the drive modes with the braking simply far too sharp for me in sport settings, but it might suit some people, glad you can individually tune the breaks, acceleration, comfort, etc. Killer feature was the launch mode, which is basically exactly what it says on the tin: it gives a huge acceleration boost initially away from the lights for the first second or two, making the car feel like a much faster car. Exactly where it counts. The outgoing Tesla Model Y does not have that, making it simply too slow - a deal breaker for me. I believe the newer Model Y is faster but I doubt it is this quick initially

Perhaps there was something wrong with the calibration of the LKAS system on my test car or something wasn't quite right in the settings, but it was terrible. It would let the car go towards the edge of the lane and then steer back into the center. About the worst LKAS system I have experienced, unusable

I double checked the rumour I heard that the extortionate delivery charges include a couple of annual services and a set of tyres, and I can confirm that it does! Even includes a brake fluid change. So I guess it is fair to say that unless you do a huge annual mileage, you will have zero maintenance on this car for 3 years.

The white interior is standard and the price on the road, including the servicing, is about the same as a Tesla Model Y if you go for the optional white interior on the Tesla. The latter is lighter and more efficient, with an expected motorway range that is considerably higher, because of the better aerodynamics and better drivetrain efficiency

All in all the Xpeng G6 is a 100% credible alternative to any of the incumbent competitors. I said over a decade ago that it was only a matter of time before almost all of us drove Chinese cars. Pretty much everybody laughed at me. Now look where we are. Can't see too many people still laughing…

I was wise enough not to give a timeline on my prediction ;-)

Of course only a minority of cars sold in Ireland or in Europe today in 2025 were made in China. It will be many years before that is a majority. And many more years after that before the majority of cars driven in Europe were made in China. But it will happen. Big difference is that nobody believed me when I said this 10 years ago. Now pretty much everybody knows it.

I do agree with you that the wind is blowing that way alright.

If you think of EU manufacturing, taking Irish minimum wage of 13.50 euro per hour for a pretty unskilled worker, I'd imagine some very skilled technicians and software engineers, testers and even some senior roles are coming in under that wage rate in motor manufacturing in some Asian countries. When you see the price of some cars selling in China compared to here it's crazy, like 15 grand for an id3 or something.

Impossible to compete now. A unionised worker in Europe with skill and experience is going to be looking for 30 odd euro an hour or more, adds up very quickly.

@unkel

thought service plan was for 2years and not 3?

yeah i think in year 2 they may change tyres if required.

Is XPeng coming into Ireland via MSL?

Has the distributor tax been announced yet? Assuming they'll levy at least 2K onto whatever RRP XPeng suggest.