Models of the brand to be launched next month will be priced between $14,000 and $21,000.

BEIJING – Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng announced plans to launch a cheaper brand, entering a highly competitive segment amid an intense price competition in the EV industry.

Models of the brand, to be launched within the next month, will be priced between 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan ($14,000-$21,000), Xpeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng told an industry event in Beijing on Saturday, the company posted on its official WeChat account.

That compares with a 200,000-300,000-yuan range where premium EV makers generally prices their cars.

Competition in China’s EV market has intensified as companies race to cut prices, with market leader BYD spearheading a deeper round of price reductions.

Xpeng said it will successively introduce models under the brand, which it did not name, each with different levels of intelligent driving capabilities. The new brand is dedicated to creating “the first AI-assisted driving car for young people”, it said.

Sales of battery-powered EVs in China slowed to 18.2% in the first two months of the year from 20.8% for all of 2023, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

Tesla to raise prices on Model Y electric vehicles in parts of Europe

Tesla said on Saturday it would increase the price of its Model Y electric vehicles (EV) in several European countries on March 22 by approximately 2,000 euros ($2,177) or the equivalent in local currencies.

The move, announced in a post on social media platform X, followed the automaker’s announcement on Friday that it would increase prices for all Model Y cars in the US by $1,000 on April 1.

Tesla raised the prices of its Model Y rear-wheel drive and long-range vehicles by $1,000 to $43,990 and $48,990, respectively, on March 1.

Read more: PM hopeful of Pak-Gulf trade to surpass $1 bn

“This is the essential quandary of manufacturing: factories need continuous production for efficiency, but consumer demand is seasonal,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in February, replying to a post on X from his company announcing that prices would go up the following month.

Tesla’s margins have been hurt by a price war with rivals that started more than a year ago.

In January, Tesla warned of “notably lower” sales growth this year as it focuses on the production of its next-generation EV, which is code-named “Redwood.”