Volkswagen and Xpeng’s collectively developed electrical automobiles will use Xpeng’s G9 ‘Edward’ platform, in a lift for the Chinese language startup that analysts stated may carry its gross sales and profitability.

Xpeng can even obtain so-called know-how service income from Volkswagen from subsequent 12 months onwards, overturning a four-decade-old mannequin of overseas automakers charging their Chinese language companions for know-how licensing.

“We are going to use the G9 platform and mix it with Volkswagen know-how,” VW Group CEO Oliver Blume stated on a media name on Thursday following half-year outcomes.

He stated the 2 corporations would hash out particulars of which applied sciences would function within the joint fashions from every automaker within the coming weeks.
“We need to faucet into white spots on our product portfolio,” Blume stated.

Older tech

The Edward platform is an older technology of Xpeng’s platform know-how, forming the premise for the startup’s G9 and P7 fashions.

Xpeng’s newest fashions, such because the G6 unveiled on the Shanghai auto present in April, are being constructed on a more moderen platform, the Good Electrical Platform Structure (SEPA) 2.0.

Nonetheless, information that VW and Xpeng will use the Edward platform may assist increase the gross sales of fashions nonetheless utilizing it, stated an analyst who declined to be named.

Xpeng had bought a complete of 13,500 G9s as of the tip of June, far beneath the corporate’s authentic expectation of month-to-month gross sales of 10,000 models.

The partnership may additionally assist decrease Xpeng’s EV manufacturing prices by leveraging VW’s scale and bargaining energy in provide.

Whereas some analysts considered the information as a defeat for Volkswagen in its try to beat the Chinese language EV market, Deutsche Financial institution welcomed it as “fast and capital-efficient” strategy to fill its hole within the middle-class EV phase in China.