Gasgoo Munich- XPENG plans to ramp up annual European sales to 500,000 units by 2030, aiming to break into the mainstream and potentially overtake Ford and Opel in volume.
Image credit: XPENG
For context, Ford delivered more than 426,000 vehicles in Europe last year, while Opel logged 400,000 new registrations.
The key to hitting that target is expanding local production in Europe, XPENG Chairman He Xiaopeng said in an Oct. 13 interview at the Paris Motor Show. The company aims to lift global sales to 1 million units a year — with Europe accounting for half.
Since entering Europe via Norway in 2020, XPENG has delivered more than 60,000 vehicles across the continent, with the bulk of those arriving in 2025 and 2026. To scale up, the automaker is exploring higher output with its Austrian contract manufacturer, Magna Steyr, and scouting other European locations for potential production lines.
Right now, capacity is the biggest bottleneck XPENG faces in Europe, He said.
Chinese automakers, including BYD, are racing to build long-term European footholds. They face sagging sales at home, while European Union regulations are pushing them to set up local plants and supply chains.
XPENG already builds its G6 and G9 SUVs, plus the P7+ sedan, in Graz, Austria. This month, the company said its new flagship SUV, the G9L, has completed its first European trial-production run.
Going forward, XPENG wants to deepen local European production rather than rely on imported cars from China. It’s looking to Volkswagen’s investment footprint in China as a blueprint for building a lasting local presence. Volkswagen Group, an XPENG shareholder, already partners with the EV maker on automotive electronics and driver-assistance technology in China.
XPENG has yet to detail the added capacity or potential plant sites needed to hit its European sales target, and it remains unclear whether talks have advanced to firm investment commitments.
