Xpeng P7 under consideration for Australia to take on the Tesla Model 3

The Xpeng P7 electric vehicle (EV) has made its Australian public debut in Melbourne, but the automaker says it's yet to decide whether the striking liftback, a rival to the Tesla Model 3, Mazda 6e and BYD Seal, will join its local lineup.

The second-generation 'E29' P7 was launched in China in 2025 and was among the vehicles displayed at the brand's Australian relaunch this week as a factory-backed operation.

The P7 was the only production model displayed that the automaker hasn't locked in for local showrooms (discounting the Aircraft Carrier), with five models including four SUVs and a people mover set to arrive over the next six months.

The Xpeng GX flagship SUV is also set to arrive in 2027 at the earliest, although exact timing is yet to be decided.

"We are looking at the market currently," Xpeng vice chairman and president Brian Gu told media including CarExpert, when asked about the P7's chances of a local launch.

"I see a trend that sedans becoming more marginalised as a format, so we are thinking very hard whether we want to bring more sedans to this market. Obviously that decision hasn't been made yet."

The P7 measures 5017mm long, 1970mm wide and 1427mm high, and uses a rear-mounted 270kW/465Nm electric motor driving the rear wheels in the entry-level grade, paired with a 74.9kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

Claimed range on the CLTC cycle is 702km, rising to as much as 820km in higher grades using a 92.2kWh lithium ternary battery.

This larger battery is also fitted to the flagship Ultra, which produces 437kW/695Nm through a dual-motor all-wheel drive system, for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.7 seconds and a 750km CLTC range.

With Xpeng pitching itself as a rival to Tesla, the P7's key competitor in Australia would be the (smaller) Model 3 sedan, which starts at $54,900 before on-road costs here, with the two EVs priced relatively closely in China.

While Tesla sales have been resurgent in 2026, both globally and in Australia, it has been the Model Y SUV doing the heavy lifting, making headlines by becoming the first EV to top the Australian sales charts in May.

Tesla doesn't report individual global sales by model, but Electric Vehicle Council figures show Model 3 sales have fallen in Australia, with 3192 delivered in the first six months of the year, down 14.1 per cent on the same period in 2025.

Meanwhile, 20,396 Model Ys were delivered in Australia in the first half of this year, putting it third overall behind the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes.

Bucking the trend is the BYD Seal, which is up 64.9 per cent year-to-date with 2654 deliveries, hot on the heels of the declining Model 3.

Regardless, the P7 would enter a relatively low-volume segment despite modest growth this year, with Xpeng likely keeping a keen eye on sales of the new Mazda 6e electric liftback, customer deliveries of which begin this month.

The other recent arrival, the Kia EV4 electric sedan, has contributed only 277 sales to Kia's 41,846 year-to-date deliveries, despite record EV market share driven by record fuel prices.

In China, Xpeng also offers the M03 sedan, which is closer in size to the Model 3 and EV4, but is aimed at younger buyers and priced much lower. At the other end of the scale, the P7+ is another large liftback with more sedate styling than the P7.

Passenger cars have largely been replaced by SUVs in terms of popularity in Australia.

The Holden Commodore sedan and wagon range last topped the annual sales charts in 2010, with the Mazda 3 that took the top spot in 2011-12 and the Toyota Corolla that took it from 2013-15 both offered as a hatch or sedan.

While SUVs have grown in popularity, it's actually utes that have taken the top spot every year from 2016 onwards – first the Toyota HiLux, and then the Ford Ranger.

MORE: Explore the Xpeng showroom