VW Reportedly Secures Rights to Xpeng EV Platform

Volkswagen purchases the rights to Chinese automaker Xpeng’s E/E electric vehicle platform, as well as its smart software package, as part of the technical framework agreement announced by the two companies last month, according to Chinese media.

Citing records of a meeting between the two automakers, a number of Chinese media outlets, including 36kr.com, have reported that VW has secured the intellectual property rights to the platform and software currently used by Xpeng’s G9 SUV.

Developed by Xpeng, the so-called E/E structure supports an 800V silicon carbide (SiC) electric architecture and what is described as “the automotive industry’s first full-scenario advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).”

Compatible with 480-kW charging, the G9’s 96-kWh battery is claimed to charge from a 10% to 80% state in 15 minutes.

With a choice of either single-motor rear-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive, the SUV boasts official ranges of between 344 and 437 miles (554 and 704 km) on the CLTC test cycle.

In top-of-the-line 650X Performance form, the G9 is also claimed to accelerate from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed limited to 124mph (200 km/h).

The ADAS is part of the Chinese automaker’s second-generation XNGP system. It uses dual NVIDIA Orin chips for a claimed 508 trillion operations per second (TOPs) of computing power, as well as 31 sensors, including dual front lidars.

VW and Xpeng officially describe their agreement as a “technological framework.” However, they have been careful not to divulge specific details regarding hardware and software.

The agreement, some eight months in the making, will see Volkswagen invest up to $700 million in Xpeng to provide it with the necessary technology to develop two new midsize SUV models for sale in 2026.

Chinese media claim Xpeng, an electric vehicle start-up headquartered in Guangzhou, will receive ongoing technical service fees and a share of the profit once the two electric-powered VW models enter production, providing it with valuable revenue streams for the development of more new electric models.

The design and development of the new Chinese market models are to be handled by VW’s newly established TechCo division. Headquartered in the Chinese city of Hefei, it is described as VW’s largest R&D center outside of Germany.

Volkswagen is currently developing its own 800V electric vehicle platform called the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) to succeed the 400V Modular Electric Toolkit platform. However, it has been delayed due to software issues.

Xpeng was founded in 2014 and offers a range of electric vehicle models, including the G3i, P7, P5, G9 and the recently introduced G6.