New XPeng Beta Electric SUV
This is the brand new XPeng Beta, an electric SUV from China, looking very stylish and
distinctively new-energy. The XPeng Beta is the brainchild of a company
called Xiaopeng Motors, based in the great city of
Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The Beta is currently in the prototype phase,
hence the name, but the production version will be 90% similar.
The company has been founded by a band of Chinese internet entrepreneurs led by He Xiaopeng (in red polo), the founder of UC Web, which was acquired by Alibaba in 2014. Like most internet-born car
makers Xiaoping Motors will outsource the actual production of the cars to an
existing Chinese car maker. The company says they are currently negotiating
with several manufacturers. Trial production is set to start in mid-2017 and
mass production in 2018, starting with 20.000 units per yet.
There isn’t much technical information yet: it will
be four-wheel drive, with a two-wheel drive mode. Battery is a Samsung 18650
with en energy density of 152 Wh/kg, which is, according to the company, more
dense than the batteries of the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model S. Range is 300
kilometer. 0-100 will take 5.8 seconds or 7.9 seconds in 2WD mode. It is not
entirely clear why it has 2WD mode, the company does not elaborate on that.
The XPeng Beta is not an autonomous car, but it will
be equipped with active cruise control, automatic parking and with a remote
control system for automatic un-parking, allowing drivers to summon the vehicle
from the parking lot to their doorstep.
The interior is properly high tech, although a bit
dark and gray. The touch screen measures 15.6 inch and controls pretty much
everything the car can and does. The operating system is called ‘8 Core’.
The fancy HD camera on the roof has nothing to do
with autonomous driving but everything with making photos and movies of the
scenery the car drives through.
All in all a very interesting project and we
naturally hope they will succeed. The XPeng will have its public debut on
the Guangzhou Auto Show in November.
Source : Carscoops
