Chinese e-vehicle manufacturer sees potential in European market

COPENHAGEN - A showcase for the latest plug-in and electric vehicles opened in Denmark on Friday, with Chinese e-automakers Xpeng, SAIC's MG, BYD, and Aiways among those displaying the latest cutting-edge cars.

Denmark's eCarExpo 2022, which takes place from Friday to Sunday at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, is twice the size of its debut in 2021, and the largest electric vehicle trade show in the Nordic region.

Xpeng, a newcomer among intelligent electric vehicle manufacturers on the Danish market, hopes to use the exhibition to strengthen its foothold in the highly lucrative European market.

"We opened our first store in the city center of Copenhagen, opposite the world-famous Tivoli gardens, a very prime location. It's an experience store, the first of hopefully many where customers can come and see our technologies, our products and test our cars," Jens Olesen, managing director of Xpeng Denmark, told Xinhua.

The next step in Denmark was to develop the company's service strategy and network by opening a new location north of Copenhagen, Olesen said.

According to Danish e-Mobility, an e-vehicle industry alliance, sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 33.6 percent of total vehicle sales in the country in the first half of 2022. This represents a slight increase compared to the first half of 2021, when electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales accounted for 26.8 percent of total vehicle sales.

Olesen said customers in Denmark and Europe are particularly drawn to Xpeng cars for their safety.

"We build high-quality cars with high levels of technology and safety, and Danish customers in particular are very focused on safety. They also like quality, they are very design-focused," he said.

However, all new entrants into the Danish market face challenges, Olesen said.

"When you're a new brand, no one knows you. And since a lot of new brands are entering the market at the same time, it's difficult to get your head above water," he said.

"We're up against some of the big, traditional, and well-established brands with big budgets and a hundred years of business operation in the market. So our main challenge is to get our foothold in a very big and evolved industry as a newcomer."

In the future, the company intends to expand further in Europe.

"Currently, we are investigating where to expand based on the earnings that we have in the first four markets where we currently operate," Olesen said.