Xpeng to launch an industry redefining EREV system in break from fully electric route

On October 6, at the Xpeng AI day event, company CEO He Xiaopeng announced that the company is developing a new EREV system that it will put into production in the future. The announcement is a major shift in strategy for the company, which has up until now only produced fully electric vehicles.

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Xpeng’s new extended-range technology is called the Xpeng Kunpeng Super Electric System and will be a next-generation system for the global market. Crucially, He said that Xpeng did not want to produce yet another EREV but something extraordinary or unique.

He went on to criticize current systems as not providing a very good experience. Typically, they take around 30 minutes to charge from 30-80% SoC but offer only a limited range. Xpeng’s Kunpeng system aims for an all-electric range of 430 km and a combined range of 1400 km.

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Speaking at the event, He mentioned that in many countries, there is not a reliable national grid, and so there is a need along with in colder parts of China.

The key to making the new Kunpeng system extraordinary and unique is delivering a very different user experience. Part of that is the increased range, but it is also about the usability of the system and the car users’ experience with it.

Obviously by increasing the all-electric range drivers can ensure that they are more likely to use electricity provided by a charger while needing to actually charge less. However, Xpeng also wants to change the experience when the engine is used to generate electricity.

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Firstly, Xpeng aims to produce a system in which the noise level is only increased by 1 decibel when the engine is on acting as a generator. Furthermore, it wants to eliminate many of the problems currently experienced by EREV systems.

He mentioned that using the existing systems can be difficult to drive uphill. The Kunpeng system will be optimized based on road conditions. This uses AI, so if the car is running out of charge and is in a mountainous area, the engine will warm up sooner.

The Kunpeng will utilize a 5C battery pack that can charge 10-80% of SoC in as little as 12 minutes. These will use the Xpeng S5 supercharger, which is now ready to roll out in China and will be introduced in export markets starting in 2025.

Source: Xpeng