The Xpeng P7+ Chases Tesla With Camera-Only Automated Driving

Xpeng may be one of the more prolific Chinese car EV startups. It roared onto the scene in 2019 with a Tesla Model S-sized electric car that was priced closer to the Tesla Model 3 called the XPeng P7. And like Tesla, the Xpeng P7 boasted a suite of semi-autonomous driving capabilities analogous to Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, called XNGP. For 2024, it looks like Xpeng is finally giving the P7 a much-needed update in the form of a new model—and it's running another Tesla playbook too. 

Meet the updated Xpeng P7+. These images were officially released by He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's CEO, on the Chinese social media website Weibo. Xiaopeng himself confirmed there are three things about this new model we should know: it will be called P7+, it will be more than five meters long (196 inches) and it will include "technology +", whatever the heck that means. 

The dead-on front view and rear fascia detail shots are a little hard to parse out, but the side profile picture reveals a stylish car. Whereas the old P7 kind of looked like an odd version of the Tesla Model S, the P7+’s proportions look completely different. The roofline is long, terminating at a very short decklid.

It’s not entirely clear, but looking at the trunk shut line, it appears that the P7+ will likely be a hatchback instead of a sedan-shaped design like the current P7.

Now, the most interesting part of all is that the P7+ doesn’t appear to have any LiDAR units. The Xpeng G6, G9, P5 and current P7 all use LiDAR as the backbone of its self-driving capabilities, so this omission is a big departure for the brand. This car is expected to switch to a vision, camera-based only setup for its autonomous driving ADAS aspirations, similar to Tesla.

Of course, that attracted the ire of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

According to China-focused tech news outlet CnEVPost, the P7 has historically been a strong seller for the brand, once making up roughly half of its sales in 2022. Yet, now for 2024, the P7 can only clear about 17% of its total sales volume.

As a whole, though, Xpeng has somewhat struggled to generate the volume some would expect from a Tesla-analogus brand in China. The Xpeng G6, a Model Y competitor, gets decent reviews, but it’s been a relative sales flop in China. Still, things may be on the upswing, Xpeng says that May was its best month ever with more than 10,000 cars delivered. Also, the reasonably priced Xpeng Mona M03 could get more drivers behind the wheel here. 

Xpeng’s aspirations go beyond China. The updated P7+ will likely appear in European markets shortly after its official unveiling and sale in China. The P7+ is expected to launch in the fourth quarter.