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Xpeng Officially Presents the P5, the World's First EV With a LiDAR

In June, Volvo announced the XC90 successor – now with a proper name – would be the first production vehicle ever to present a LiDAR as standard equipment. Audi did that with the A8 some years ago, mind you, but no EV presented it so far. Xpeng had other plans and beat Volvo to it with the P5, an electric car that aims to compete with the Model 3 in China starting in October. Foreign markets such as Norway will get it soon afterward.
Xpeng P5 80 photos
Photo: Xpeng
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Although it may seem small, the P5 is 4.81 meters (189.4 inches) long, 1.84 m (72.4 in) wide, 1.52 m (59,8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.77 m (109.1 in). With a drag coefficient of 0.223, the sedan promises to be quite efficient.

Sadly, Xpeng only released its ranges under the NEDC cycle, which does not properly compare with WLTP or EPA. The Chinese company said independent tests achieved 97.1% of the NEDC range in real-life conditions for the battery pack theoretically able to run 460 kilometers (285.8 miles). The P5 with 600 km (372.8 mi) of range would have returned up to 94.9% of that capability in these tests. Xpeng said the Tesla Model 3 would reach only 74.3% of its alleged 468 km (290.8 mi) range.

Although there is information that the P5 will have AWD and RWD options, Xpeng did not mention a word about that in its official press release. It only said that the car would have a maximum power of 155 kW (208 hp) and 310 Nm (228.6 lb-ft).

The P5 will have six derivatives. Two of them (460G and 460E) present an LFP battery pack that delivers 55.9 kWh and 460 km of range. All the others use ternary cells (NCA or NMC). The versions 550G, 550E, and 550P have a 66.2-kWh battery pack, and you already know the range it presents. The top version is the 600P, with a 71.4-kWh battery pack and 600 km of range, obviously.

Xpeng was much more concerned in presenting the P5 ADAS, called XPILOT. It would be much superior to Tesla’s Autopilot or FSD, starting by the number of sensors it offers. Apart from two double-prism LiDARs for the 550P and 600P derivatives, it also presents 12 ultrasonic radars, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 13 high-definition cameras, and a high-precision positioning unit.

The LiDARs are integrated with XPILOT 3.5 – Xpeng’s ADAS latest version, available only on the 550P and 600P. One of its functions, NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot), would now be able to steer the car and control its speed in a city environment, which could give you the idea that it is autonomous. Not yet: no vehicle currently for sale goes beyond Level 3. Xpeng did not mention what is the level XPILOT 3.5 presents.

The Chinese company did not inform how much the car will cost without government incentives. Including them, the 460G starts at RMB157,900 ($24,457 at the current exchange rate). It is then followed by the 550G (RMB172,900, or $26,781), 460E (RMB177,900, or $27,555), 550E (RMB192,900, or $29,879), 550P (RMB199,900, or $30,963), and the 600P (RMB223,900, or $34,680).
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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