Bermaz Auto has been awarded the Malaysia distributorship for the XPeng, the Chinese marque best known for its premium electric vehicles equipped with advanced autonomous driving technologies.
As the distributor for Malaysia, Bermaz Auto will also be responsible for the sale of spare parts, as well as after-sales services for the XPeng brand in Malaysia. The company currently the brand custodians for Mazda and Kia in Malaysia, with Peugeot recently transferred back to Stellantis’ own new national sales company.
Xpeng, founded in 2014 by two former GAC Motor executives, has now grown into a multinational EV marque with several facilities outside of China including two R&D centres in the US, a competence centre in Munich, a finance hub in Hong Kong, as well as a European headquarters in Amsterdam. The company also trades its stocks publicly on the New York Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Key investors for the brand include Alibaba, Foxconn, and most recently Volkswagen, the latter announced its investment of USD700 million (approx. RM940 million) into XPeng for a 4.99% stake of the company. VW Group will also collaborate with XPeng to develop two Volkswagen-branded EV models for the mid-size segment in the Chinese market due in 2026.
Commenting on the new distributorship, Bermaz Auto Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Francis Lee Kok Chuan said in a press release, “We are excited to be awarded the XPeng Distributorship for Malaysia. XPeng marque vehicles are among the top smart EVs in China as well as globally. They are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art features such as autonomous driving technology, digital cockpits and high- performance batteries.”
“This new distributorship will complement our Group’s existing EV business and will bring positive synergistic benefits to all parties. It is also in line with our Group’s sustainability initiatives to manage and minimise our environmental footprint by introducing more green vehicles and technologies,” he added.
XPeng currently has seven models under its wing, including the P7i and P5 sedans, G9 and G6 SUVs, as well as the X9 flagship MPV that was only unveiled in January this year. The latter, in its range-topping guise, will come equipped with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration boasting outputs of 503 hp (370 kW) and 640 Nm, as well as an electric range of 640 km (CLTC).
While Bermaz Auto did not reveal the first model to be launched in Malaysia as part of the new distributorship agreement, XPeng president Brian Gu previously said that the brand’s G6 SUV will be the first model in its stable to receive the right-hand-drive treatment as part of the brand’s new global push.
The Xpeng G6 is a fairly large fully electric Coupe SUV, comparable in size to the Hyundai Santa Fe. In China, the G6 is offered in multiple variants with both single- and dual-motor setups, offering up to 487 hp (358 kW) and 660 Nm of outputs, and a electric driving range from 580-755 km (CLTC). Pricing for the G6 starts from CNY209,900 (approx. RM137k).
According to XPeng founder and chief executive (as well as the namesake of the brand) He Xiaopeng, the brand’s key focus is in the area of artificial intelligent, “designed to make our smart EVs more efficient, convenient, and accessible to appeal to the large and growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers”.
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