Does Xiaomi YU7 get the lion's share while XPeng G7 gets the scraps?

"The order situation has truly exceeded our expectations. If you're really in a hurry to get a car, domestic new energy vehicles are all quite good. You can take a look at the upcoming XPeng G7."

Last week, the Xiaomi YU7 shocked the entire Chinese automotive industry like a violent storm. It received 200,000 firm orders in 3 minutes, 289,000 in 1 hour, and locked in 240,000 orders in 18 hours...

To be honest, such an exaggerated achievement is unheard of and unseen.

During the live - broadcast this Wednesday, Lei Jun made the opening remarks. You can think of it as his modesty, or perhaps as an attempt to comfort competitors, or even as an effort to build an image. But in any case, he did divert some of the huge traffic and attention of the Xiaomi YU7 to the so - called "direct competitors".

So, can the XPeng G7 catch this opportunity?

01

Judging from last night's launch event, this mid - sized pure - electric SUV, which was recommended by Lei Jun and positioned as a "family - smart" vehicle, didn't disappoint. It quite successfully accomplished the task of "while the Xiaomi YU7 takes the big share, I'll take the leftovers".

Actually, looking at the first half of the year, XPeng achieved a very good delivery record. The cumulative deliveries from January to June exceeded 190,000 units, and the monthly deliveries continuously exceeded 30,000 units.

However, looking deeper, it mainly relied on the MONA M03 and P7+ two pure - electric sedans with a price below 200,000 yuan as the main support.

Precisely based on this background, to elevate the brand and avoid getting stuck in the quagmire of low - end and low - margin business, it is necessary to establish a truly solid foothold in the price range above 200,000 yuan.

The XPeng G7 has shouldered a similar mission since its birth.

From the finally announced prices, the whole series has three versions. The 602 Long - Range Max version is priced at 195,800 yuan, the 702 Ultra - Long - Range Max version at 205,800 yuan, and the 702 Ultra - Long - Range Ultra version at 225,800 yuan. On top of that, with many additional benefits, it shows great sincerity.

Meanwhile, it completely avoids the edge of the Xiaomi YU7, forming a staggered competition. Additionally, it fills the gap between the 2025 XPeng G6 and G9 to a certain extent.

02

As for the comprehensive product strength of the XPeng G7, if I were to summarize it with two keywords, my answer would be: family - use + intelligence.

First of all, on this mid - sized pure - electric SUV, we can see the careful attention to the driving and riding space and the comfort experience. Especially, the four seats are completely equal in terms of comfort. The abundant storage space in the whole vehicle is also a major highlight.

Overall, it gives the impression of a "well - rounded vehicle" without obvious weaknesses. And with the 800V system and 5C power batteries across the whole series, it ensures the stability of the XPeng G7's basic performance.

Compared horizontally with the Tesla Model Y, a competitor that can't be avoided in this segment, it also has a significant leading advantage.

Secondly, it's about intelligence. The intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving chips of the Max version are a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 and two NVIDIA Orin - X respectively, which are still the mainstream hardware levels in the industry at present.

For the Ultra version priced at 225,800 yuan, these two parts are replaced with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 9295 and three self - developed Turing AI chips by XPeng, with a comprehensive computing power of 2250 TOPS.

Yes, you heard it right. A mid - sized pure - electric SUV in the 200,000 - yuan range has a comprehensive computing power exceeding 2000 TOPS.

Undoubtedly, this is the most attractive feature of the XPeng G7 and the biggest "killer weapon" to attract potential customers. Although at present, it's not possible to specifically quantify how big the gap in actual experience will be between the Ultra version and the Max version, spending just 20,000 yuan more for a very promising "future" is quite cost - effective.

03

"Family - use + intelligence" is also the difference between the XPeng G7 and the Xiaomi YU7.

If the latter focuses on appearance and handling, the protagonist of today's article takes a completely different path. Perhaps, in He Xiaopeng's business strategy, only in this way can it avoid Lei Jun's sharp edge and try its best to take over the overflowing orders, achieving the goal of "while the Xiaomi YU7 takes the big share, the XPeng G7 takes the leftovers".

After last night's launch event, a small - scale exclusive interview was conducted. Throughout the interview, it could be felt that He Xiaopeng was in a good mood, and he answered many questions that people were concerned about.

Firstly, it's about the terminal feedback.

"The performance of the XPeng G7 is actually very good. But because the order numbers of the Xiaomi YU7 in three minutes were so terrifying, it might seem that our vehicle is not as good. However, it doesn't prevent its popularity."

Indeed, due to the existence of such a super - phenomenal competitor, no matter how hard the protagonist of today's article tries, it seems a bit insignificant.

However, from He Xiaopeng's answers, full confidence could still be felt. And receiving over 10,000 firm orders in 9 minutes is the phased result of the XPeng G7.

Objectively speaking, it's quite remarkable.

Secondly, it's about the profit margin of the vehicle model.

To be fair, considering the pricing of the XPeng G7 series from 195,800 yuan to 225,800 yuan, this new - energy vehicle startup still focuses on "high volume and exceeding expectations". The resulting doubts mainly center around whether it can really make money.

In He Xiaopeng's view, there's no need to worry. Because starting from the second - quarter financial report, everyone will see more positive signals. As for the protagonist of today's article, he also assured everyone that "the pricing of the G7 won't affect the company's goal of increasing the gross profit".

In other words, it's definitely profitable.

Thirdly, regarding the systematic capabilities.

"Over the past three years, we've witnessed a nirvana - like change. After the fourth quarter of this year, we'll enter a period of rapid development. Next, we need to improve four capabilities. The first is more comprehensive technological capabilities, the second is organizational capabilities, the third is commercialization capabilities, and the fourth is global comprehensive capabilities."

With these dozens of words, He Xiaopeng undoubtedly summarized the past more than 1000 days. It's certain that after ups and downs, under his determination to start anew, XPeng has emerged from the quagmire and entered the fast lane of healthy development.

This is truly something to celebrate.

But objectively and rationally speaking, there are still many challenges to face, and it's definitely not the time to relax. For example, whether the G7 can carve out a path following the Xiaomi YU7, no one can guarantee. We still need to wait for the stable monthly sales volume.

In my opinion, considering the internal competition with its siblings G6 and G9, and the fierce competition in the niche market, including the sales volume of other domestic mid - sized pure - electric SUVs in the same segment, achieving about 5,000 units in the early stage can be regarded as a good performance.

Of course, there's still a mystery: what proportion can the hard - promoted Ultra version reach?

This is also very important for XPeng...

This article is from the WeChat official account "Automotive Community" (ID: iAUTO2010), author: Cui Liwen, published by 36Kr with authorization.