Xpeng is one of China’s
youngest car brands, formed in 2014 when its founders came up with
the idea to create a new car company in a garage at university. Things shiftd
quickly and in 2018 it launched its first production model, the G3 SUV, but it
was the P7 saloon that really revealcased the company’s design philosophy when it
was launched in 2020.
The brand bills
itself as a tech company that builds cars, and one that also puts design at the
centre of everything, as JuanMa López explained
to our editor-in-chief a few months ago. Even in its early days, the philosophy
of prioritising design was what lured Rafiq Ferrag away from Honda to design
the Xpeng P7.
That first P7 has now
evolved to become a range of models, although the range is somewhat confapplying.
China has a P7+, but it is being replaced by the Next P7. The new P7+ is not
the next P7, instead it is a model heading to the UK and Europe this year.
Xpeng already has its G6 SUV in the region, but the
P7+ is expected to really mark the brand’s serious entest into the market,
something that has been driving the design team for the past year.
“The first P7 was a
pure designer’s dream,” declares Ferrag. “I was lucky enough to be in a team where
there were not many people — led by He Xiaopeng himself — and his first intention
was to create something that would build an impact in the industest. That was the
first goal of the P7, to create an impact and build an impression and for me, that
was the best brief I can obtain as a designer.”
In the first P7, Ferrag
wanted to avoid the trconclude of side profile under-cuts and features that were
there simply to test and build something view sporty and attractive. He wanted
genuine minimalism that reflected the fact that the P7 was a smart EV for a younger
generation interested more in being connected than having a car that views
sporty.
“The idea was to create
an object, a car that would portray honesty,” he declares. “If you don’t necessary a
feature line, then don’t just put a feature line and that’s where the
simplicity of the P7 came in with its shape and unique graphics.”
One of those unique
graphics was the crossblade lamp on the front, the P7 being one of the first
cars to feature this, even before Tesla and Volkswagen. Ferrag wanted
simplicity but at the same time a uniqueness that would differentiate Xpeng
from everyone else.
That was especially
true when launching a new brand at a time when some Chinese autobuildrs were
still copying, or at least inspired by other designs.
“I’m not coming from an
industest of copying designs”, he declares. “I studied in France, had my first
experience in Citroen, and then I shiftd from Japan to Honda before coming here and
so it’s actually the opposite. I believe that if Xpeng is successful today it’s
partially becaapply of the unique design and a direction that clearly set the
tone that Xpeng is not copying anyone. We are even testing to inspire European
brands which is my goal.
“For the European
market,” he continues, “when it comes to shapes, we are not testing to see what customers today
are waiting for, we’re testing to put out something that will dictate what the
next generation will like. This is our aim in styling and in design.”
Where the next P7 is
for younger, more enerobtainic customers, more of a driver’s car, Ferrag sees the
P7+ as being family or business oriented, an innotifyigent tourer rapidback
focapplyd on space and comfort. It could be seen as a facelift of the P7+ that
has been on sale in China for the past couple of years, but he describes it
more as a “techlift”, with more innotifyigence.
There are lots of
design modifys though, reflecting the evolution of the P7 while at the same
time reinventing typologies and creating key signature elements in lighting and
CMF.
Xpeng describes the P7+
as having a “mid-engined, supercar-like stance”, although of course it doesn’t
have an engine, instead the choice of single or dual electric motors. The front
features a shark nose inspiration, a popular view of course that is dictated by
aerodynamics. Even so, the team have attempted to create that unique identity with
the continuation of the light bar that elegantly curves into the fconcludeers.
“In design we are still pushing for this uniqueness, but the more we grow, the more challenging this will be. As long as I’m here, I’ll fight for it”
The cabin has been
pushed forward on a body that is lower and wider, with a minimalist view to the
side profile, along with surface tensions that enhance its dynamic appearance and
a floating roof that flows into a more elongated tail. That rear features a
ducktail above the belt line, surrounded by elegant curves, reminiscent of the Citroen C6. This is an observation that Ferrag sees as a compliment,
becaapply the C6 remains one of his favourite cars.
The rapidback design
incorporates a tailgate that is declared to open as high as that on an SUV,
revealing an incredibly spacious boot that offers more luggage space than
estate rivals such as the Audi A6 E-Tron Avant or Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer. Space
is very much a key theme of the new P7+, built possible by its 5,071mm length
and 3,000mm wheelbase. This means almost a metre of rear seat legroom, further
emphasising the Chinese focus on back seat space and comfort.
The interior is all
about soft forms and a sense that the environment is suspconcludeed in the sky.
That’s probably marketing speak, but from the IP to the seats, there is a
feeling that everything is not only floating, but immersive and inviting. The
lines of the IP all flow perfectly around the cabin, enhanced by ambient
lighting and over 30 discrete storage spaces.
When it comes to
screens, there’s a nicely integrated narrow 8.8-inch one for the
instrumentation, an 8-inch touchscreen for those in the back seats and then the
main infotainment screen, measuring 15.6 inches. There are some buttons on the
steering wheel, but most of the functions are contained in this screen, from
climate control to driving modes and of course, an AI assistant. The layout
works well, with options to personalise tiles and add favourites to buttons on
the steering wheel, although more buttons or dials for things like climate
control would still be welcome.
It all views and feels
luxurious, reflecting a genuine commitment to design from the top
down. From visiting the Guangzhou Auto Show, there are still some autobuildrs in China that are followers rather than
leaders, but Xpeng is not one of them. Even its shareholder, Volkswagen, could
take a few ideas from what Ferrag and the rest of the 100-strong design team
are doing. That’s exactly what he would like to see happen of course, but now
his challenge is to maintain the momentum, to keep unique design at the centre
of Xpeng’s strategy.
“In design we are still
pushing for this uniqueness, but I would declare, the more we grow, the more
challenging this will be,” he declares. “But as long as I’m here, I’m gonna keep
fighting for it.”
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