Newly launched in Ireland, the electric car that's targeting Tesla

XPeng is the latest Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker to land on Irish shores, offering its tech-packed new G6 Coupe SUV.

The company might only be 10 years old but it already has 15,000 staff worldwide and big ambitions of selling in 60 countries by the end of the year. 

It's the latest Chinese disrupter, out to challenge both established Chinese brands like BYD and international ones like Tesla.

The Xpeng G6 Coupe stands gleaming at the South Dublin showroom in Deansgrange - right next to its competitor BYD's showroom. It's an electric SUV that does 0-100kph in 6.7 seconds, and the long-range version goes 570 kilometers on a single charge.

Packed with AI tech taking us closer to autonomous driving, it'll park the car for you hands-free and has autonomous driving features as standard - compared with Tesla, which charges extra for the autopilot.

X vs Y

Xiǎopéng in Chinese means 'little fabulous bird', and XPeng's sales are certainly flying in its first week in Ireland. 

"We've actually called for more stock," Brand Manager Alan Furlong tells CGTN. "We had orders put in because of the volume that we sold over the last week.

"One week opened, the weekend we sold 12 XPengs and now we have more cars on order and they're on their way from China as we speak."

The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car on the planet in 2023, a first for an electric car - and stayed a best-seller in 2024 too.

Now Xpeng is trying to compete on better tech as-standard features like the AI-powered autonomous driving features – not to mention a price tag around $10,000 to $15,000 lighter.

'Tariffs? People ask if it's good value'

The company's investment in Ireland is also another sign that EU EV tariffs aren't stopping the Chinese electric car rollout, and may be in fact driving more innovation.

In late 2024, the EU imposed tariffs of between 17 and 35 percent on Chinese EVs. But EV expert Derek Reilly, of advisory website Nevo.ie, isn't seeing much effect.

"Tariffs?" he asks CGTN. "I mean people are just looking at: is it good value? The vehicle itself - has it the range, has it the size, can I fit the kids in it? Can I fit the dog in the boot?"

Could tariffs and tech restrictions drive innovation in EVs, the way they have in the AI sector where DeepSeek caused such a panic on Wall Street?

"Tariffs are driving more innovation, but also I think Chinese manufacturers have optimized real lean manufacturing," says Reilly. "They are taking that tariff in, being able to soak that in and still have a competitively-priced vehicle that European customers and Irish customers are happy to pay for.

"Now it's CPUs this and AI that, and voice assistant that - the Chinese cars have it all and the European manufacturers are kind of playing catch-up to what consumers are actually looking for."

For Reilly, it's another example of knowing your target market. 

"These Chinese manufacturers are coming in with a good product because Irish buyers, European buyers want something that's quality, has the range, has the warranty, has that backup and dealer network – and they're able to do it and they're getting their sales targets up.'

Reilly also thinks that the new brands' relative youth can be a strength rather than a weakness.

"A lot of them are brand-new startups," he says. "XPeng, 10 years old, don't have that legacy of factories all over Europe and trying to make a diesel engine and a petrol engine – they just did electric, so optimized, really good technology, because the Chinese buyer wants that as well, so we're getting the benefits of that as well."

How did China become an electric car leader?

What's really happened in the EV space is that decades ago Chinese carmakers focused on an electric future and didn't try to compete with legacy brands like Toyota, Ford, BMW and Mercedes on combustion engine vehicles.

They focused on EVs and invested in a future that's now arrived. They're reaping the benefits of all that investment and innovation and in this new-energy, new-tech space people are open to new brands like BYD, XPeng, NIO and others. 

In January 2025 Ireland sold 5,000 electric cars - a new record month of EV sales, while worldwide some 20 million electric and plug-in hybrids are expected to shift this year. The transition to cleaner energy vehicles is now unstoppable and Chinese innovators and disruptors like Xpeng are helping it to happen at speed.

And to answer the most important question: Yes, you can fit your dog in.