EV startup Xpeng opens first overseas plant in Indonesia

SHANGHAI – Xpeng, a major Chinese electric-vehicle startup keen to expand globally, has launched into operation its first overseas assembly plant in Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia.

The first model rolling off the production line at the factory in Purwakarta, West Jawa, is the X9, a seven-seat battery electric multi-purpose vehicle, Xpeng said July 24.

The right-hand-drive vehicle, assembled with complete knocked-down kits imported from China, features a smart cockpit, an intelligent driving system and standard rear-wheel steering.

It will be sold in the local market with a starting price of 990 million Indonesian Rupiahs ($60,342), according to the EV startup.

XPeng was incorporated in south China city of Guangzhou in 2014. In 2023, Volkswagen Group acquired a 4.99 percent stake in the young company with a goal to jointly develop intelligent EVs.

Xpeng started exporting vehicles to Norway, its first overseas market. As of June 2025, it had shipped vehicles to more than 40 countries outside China. The company’s main export markets are Europe and Southeast Asia.

Backed by an expanded product mix and fast increasing exports, Xpeng delivered 197,189 vehicles globally in the first half of this year, surging 244 percent from a year earlier, according to numbers it disclosed July 12.