The Guangzhou-based carmaker said on Monday that it had started assembling the G6 and G9 SUVs at Magna Steyr’s plant in Graz. Xpeng did not elaborate on its planned output, but added that cooperation with its partner would deepen over time.
“[The roll-out] marked a milestone in Xpeng’s globalisation strategy,” the company said. “More Xpeng models will be assembled in the factory.”
Manufacturing locally will exempt Xpeng from tariffs imposed on imports of Chinese-made pure EVs in Europe, while simultaneously enhancing its competitiveness in one of the world’s major automotive markets.
Xpeng is currently subject to a 30.7 per cent duty in the European Union on its Chinese-made cars exported to the bloc.
The company said it would initially use Magna’s supply chain to build vehicles in Austria and work closely with the contract manufacturer to gradually ramp up the localisation level.
