The Xpeng G9, while receiving praise in social media discussions, has had a lukewarm sales performance, and its facelift is expected to make up for some of its regrets.

In an analyst call last week after reporting second-quarter earnings, Xpeng management hinted that the company could launch a facelift of its current model in the fourth quarter.

"With the G6 ramping up and the introduction of enriched configurations for existing models, we will strive for a peak monthly deliveries of 20,000 in the fourth quarter," He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, said during the August 18 call.

On July 26, Volkswagen announced it would invest about $700 million in Xpeng, acquiring about 4.99 percent of the latter.

In the initial phase of the partnership, the two companies plan to jointly develop two Volkswagen-branded EV models based on the Xpeng G9 for China's mid-size car market.

($1 = RMB 7.2817)

XPeng launches G9 and new P7 in Europe, restarts efforts to build presence overseas