What is a premium brand, anyway?
Chinese auto brand Xpeng is the latest to use the ‘p’ word, which has been used by brands from Alfa Romeo to Jeep and through to Zeekr.
“I think with the quality of the car, it’s definitely a premium brand,” said Jason Clarke, CEO of Xpeng’s Australian distributor TrueEV.
Mr Clarke describes Xpeng as a premium brand despite its sole product in Australia thus far, the G6 mid-size electric SUV, undercutting rivals from Ford, Hyundai, Kia and others on price. It starts at $54,800 before on-road costs, more than $20,000 less than the most affordable Hyundai Ioniq 5.
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“You would have seen any number of those sorts of brand pyramids of car quality in Chinese EVs, and Xpeng is seen as a tech leader slash premium brand,” he added.
Industry analyst Felipe Muñoz of JATO Dynamics recently published a chart detailing how he perceives where a total of 109 Chinese auto brands sit, listing Xpeng alongside Zeekr, BYD’s Fangchengbao (which offers vehicles that are sold here as Denzas), GWM’s Tank and SAIC Motor’s IM Motors in the ‘semi-premium’ brand category.
These brands, in Mr Muñoz’s eyes, sit below ‘premium’ brands like Denza but above ‘super mainstream’ brands like BYD and Deepal.
Of the dozen-plus Chinese brands currently selling vehicles in Australia, only two others – Denza and Zeekr – have specifically referred to themselves as being premium brands.
“I believe Xpeng will thrive in most if not all markets because of their positioning. If it was the sake of ‘this is a cheap car of good quality’, I don’t think that’s sustainable and I don’t think that’s Xpeng,” said Mr Clarke.
“I think they’re very well-differentiated. Their product is prestige, but it’s so tech-focused.”
While the G6 may undercut its mass-market rivals, Xpeng doesn’t sell any vehicles more affordable than it – unlike other Chinese brands such as BYD, Chery and MG, which still offer models priced under $30,000, as well as more luxurious and expensive vehicles.
When asked what type of vehicles people were trading in for Xpengs in Australia, Mr Clarke said: “We’ve had everything from a newish Porsche Cayenne to a Californian Moke. That’s a pretty good spread.”
Once they’re in a G6, he hopes to see them eventually upgrade to more expensive products like the G6 Performance, G9L large SUV and X9 people mover – all of which are due to arrive in Australia during 2026.
“I think it helps consumers to see more than one model, so we would have liked to have seen more models earlier, [but] that’s somewhat out of our control,” said Mr Clarke.
“Obviously to homologate vehicles and get them through Australian Design Rules quickly, that’s been quite intensive for us in the early days, but we were able to do that for the G6.
“To have more models builds more trust in the brand. It brings different types of consumers, a different spread of consumers.”
