EV prices in UK and EU not likely to dive due to Chinese rivalry, says Xpeng boss

Xpeng currently only sells the G6 model in the UK and is aiming to expand its range. Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Xpeng currently only sells the G6 model in the UK and is aiming to expand its range. Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images EV prices in UK and EU not likely to dive due to Chinese rivalry, says Xpeng boss Brian Gu says he sees Chinese car firms competing on quality rather than launching price war as at home Motorists in the UK and EU should not expect a sharp drop in the cost of electric vehicles despite increased competition among Chinese manufacturers, one of the country’s biggest electric carmakers has said. Brian Gu, the vice-chair of the manufacturer Xpeng, said that Chinese carmakers could compete on quality to win customers in the EU and UK, rather than unleashing a brutal price war as they have in China . Chinese carmakers have rapidly risen to dominate the global EV industry , helped by massive government subsidies and lower labour costs than the US, Europe, Japan and Korea. UK poised to water down 2030 EV sales targets after industry and union pressure Read more The huge number of competitors in China – 129 last year according to the consultancy AlixPartners – prompted carmakers to slash prices in their home market. China’s president, Xi Jinping, intervened last year to tell provincial governments to rein back subsidies in an effort to stem the harm. Faced with such pressure at home, the better-funded Chinese manufacturers, including Xpeng, have turned to Europe to try to make profits. Xpeng, named after its founder, He Xiaopeng, is still loss-making as it spends heavily on research and on expanding sales of its vehicles in Europe, starting with the £39,990 electric G6. It only sold 7,300 cars in Europe in the first three months of 2026, according to the analyst Matthias Schmidt. However, it is hoping to pick up the pace, and compete against other Chinese companies such as the world’s biggest seller of electric cars, BYD , Chery (owner of the Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda brands ), Changan, Geely and the MG owner SAIC. Asked about the possibility of a price war in Europe to match that of China, Gu said: “I don’t see it coming.” Speaking at an event in London earlier this month, he said that, while some Chinese rivals are “pouring a lot of products” into the UK and Europe, there would not be a race to push down prices. By contrast, Chinese brands in south-east Asia or emerging markets had focused on “just being cheaper”. “I think the customer in Europe, especially customers in the developed markets, I think the focus is on quality and differentiation more than cost,” he said. Xpeng has drawn comparisons to Elon Musk’s US electric carmaker, Tesla, because of similar minimalist designs and its ambitions to sell humanoid robots. The Chinese company is also developing flying taxis. For its cars, Xpeng is aiming to differentiate itself with more hi-tech features in its cars, notably on auton