EVwire brief: Xpeng is in discussions with Volkswagen and other automakers about acquiring a production facility in Europe.
Elvis Cheng, Xpeng's managing director for northeastern Europe, confirmed the talks at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit in London.
The move is driven by capacity constraints at Xpeng's existing European base, the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, where the company has been assembling its G6, G9, and P7+ models.
We are discussing with them to see if there is any possibility we can find a location here in Europe.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the report.
Xpeng produces the P7+ sedan in Europe
Context:
Volkswagen invested $700 million in Xpeng in 2023, acquiring a roughly 5% stake alongside a joint EV development agreement in China. The two companies have since collaborated on software and electric platforms for the Chinese market, but their partnership has not yet extended to European manufacturing.
Cheng noted that some existing European facilities may not meet Xpeng's technical requirements for next-generation vehicles, describing certain Volkswagen plants as "a little bit old." Xpeng is also weighing the option of building an entirely new European plant.
VW CEO Oliver Blume signaled openness to the arrangement at the end of April, saying the automaker was assessing whether "there are opportunities for our Chinese partners in Europe" to make use of surplus plant capacity.
Xpeng successfully trial-produced the P7+ in Europe January 2026
Chinese automakers’ European manufacturing capacity
Xpeng is not alone. BYD confirmed this week that it is separately in talks with Stellantis and other European automakers about taking over underutilized factories across the region. Both announcements came at the same FT summit.
BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li confirmed the talks directly:
We are talking to not only Stellantis, we're talking to other companies too. We are looking for any available plant in Europe because we do want to utilize this kind of spare capacity.
Source: Reuters, Financial Times
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