Xpeng will officially launch the X9 on January 1, with a launch event starting at 6:30 pm Beijing Time.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Xpeng's (NYSE: XPEV) first MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) model, the X9, has received more than 30,000 pre-orders ahead of its official launch, indicating strong initial acceptance.

The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker announced the information on its social media channels today, without mentioning specific numbers.

Xpeng gave the X9 its debut on the first day of the Guangzhou auto show on November 17 and began pre-sales with a starting price of RMB 388,000 yuan ($54,650). Deliveries of the X9 will begin in January, the company said at the time.

The company will officially launch the X9 on January 1. The launch event will begin at 6:30 pm Beijing Time, when the official price is expected to be announced.

The Xpeng X9 measures 5,293 mm in length, 1,988 mm in width and 1,785 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 3,160 mm, dimensions that allow it to have a spacious interior.

The model also features active rear-wheel steering and a turning diameter of just 10.8 meters, the smallest in its class, Xpeng previously said.

The X9's turning radius is even smaller than that of Xpeng's P7 sedan, and with its HD-map-independent XNGP assisted driving capability, drivers can easily navigate the large vehicle, Xpeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said in a November 15 analyst call following the announcement of earnings.

"Deliveries of the X9 will begin in early January 2024, and I expect the X9 to be the No. 1 seller in the large pure electric MPV market," Mr. He said at the time.

Xpeng uses large integrated die-casting machines to build the front and rear bodies for the X9, and has a 7,000-tonne die-casting machine and a 12,000-tonne die-casting machine at its Guangzhou plant.

CnEVPost toured the plant earlier this month to see the two large die-casting machines and learned that Xpeng will begin putting a new 16,000-ton die-casting machine into service in mid-January.

($1 = RMB 7.0999)

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