Pre-sales for the Xpeng P7+ start at RMB 209,800 ($29,610), which is 9.53 percent lower than the Tesla Model 3's starting price of RMB 231,900 in China.

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has started pre-sales of its new P7+ model in China at a price significantly lower than Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3.

He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, introduced the model to European consumers today on the first day of the Paris auto show in France, announcing that pre-sales of the P7+ in China starts today at a price of RMB 209,800 ($29,610).

The price is RMB 22,100, or 9.53 percent, lower than the RMB 231,900 starting price of Tesla's Model 3 in China.

As is customary for Chinese EV makers launching new models, the P7+'s price could be lowered even further when it officially launches.

Chinese customers who pay RMB 99 to reserve the model now will get a RMB 3,000 reduction when they pay for the car.

Xpeng unveiled the P7+ at an event in Shenzhen on October 10, saying the model is the world's first AI (artificial intelligence) car.

The P7+ would go on sale and start deliveries in China in early November, the Guangzhou-based EV maker said.

The P7+ is Xpeng's new model internally codenamed F57, which CnEVPost reported in a July 9 exclusive, would not use any LiDAR, with the smart driving system switching to a purely vision-based solution similar to Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA).

The model is equipped with Xpeng's so-called Eagle Eye vision solution, powered by two Nvidia Orin X chips, and Xpeng's XNGP (Xpeng navigation guided pilot) assisted driving feature will be available when the vehicle is delivered, the company said on October 10.

The P7+ is a mid to large-size electric sedan with a length, width and height of 5,056 mm, 1,937 mm and 1,512 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 3,000 mm.

These dimensions are larger than those of the Xpeng P7i sedan, which measures 4,888 mm in length, 1,896 mm in width, 1,450 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2,998 mm.

P7+ show cars are already available at Xpeng stores in 25 cities in China, and all stores will have show cars by the end of this month, the company said yesterday.

($1 = RMB 7.0850)

Xpeng unveils P7+ sedan, deliveries to begin in Nov