The automotive sector in flux, with the change to electric leading to the emergence of a number of disrupter startup brands. Tesla is the brand that you'll have heard of, but there are many more. For every Rivian or Lightyear, there's a brand from the other side of the world wanting to get in on the action.

Xpeng is one such brand. We caught up with the company at the launch of the new Xpeng P7 and Xpeng G9 models in Stockholm, Sweden, as it eyes-up an expansion into Europe.

What is this company actually called?

Anyone who follows tech will be familiar with the confusion that can come out of brand names. Xpeng isn't going to avoid this discussion, and just as the likes of Hyundai are trying to adjust the pronunciation of the brand name in the UK, Xpeng accepts that it's going to have a westernised name.

For many, it's just become "ex peng", but in China, the leading X works the same was as it does for Xiaomi, so it's closer to "sow-pung". That's lead to some calling it "ex pung", a sort of combination of both. It's this latter pronunciation, "ex pung", that Elvis Cheng, Managing Director of Nordic Region, says is the one to use.

Where has Xpeng come from?

Xpeng was founded in 2014, headquartered in Guangzhou in southern China. Rather than spinning out of the car industry, the origins are from the internet, taking a slightly different approach to traditional established car brands. Initial investors included Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi, as well as big names like Alibaba and Foxconn. It's about as Silicon Valley as you can get, but coming from China rather than California.

Where are Xpeng cars available?

Xpeng launched initially in China, but targeted Norway in 2020 for an expansion into Europe. That's expanded, with Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands in the company's sights, and planned expansion of stores and support networks in these regions.

Norway and the Netherlands were high on the list because of the high demand for electric cars, as well as the established charging networks for those vehicles in those regions. The company is keeping tight-lipped about further expansion, but having seen UK-based content on the demo reel of the new models - and being a UK-based journalist at the launch event - it suggests that the UK is somewhere in the company's future plans.

How do you compete with established European brands?

The challenge for Xpeng is competing not just with European brands, but also the likes of Kia and Hyundai who have seen huge growth in Europe in recent years - especially in the EV sector. Xpeng wants to push its technology angle, offering basically everything on the entry-level models of these cars, with only minor upgrade options, for the advanced Dynaudio sound system for example. That means you'll get things like the Xpilot system offering driving, parking and safety systems as standard, as well as a lot of creature comforts.

The challenge will be gaining that brand recognition when the company doesn't plan to follow a traditional marketing route with TV advertising. Instead you can expect a lot more digital marketing, a greater online presence and the general encouragement to get out and test drive an Xpeng model.

Stores will appear in high traffic areas, like shopping centres, with the aim to getting into the general awareness and appealing to customers pockets as much as anything else. Xpeng is offering two models, a flagship SUV - the Xpeng G9 - and a saloon, the Xpeng P7. Both these models have been refreshed and are launching as updated versions into Europe for 2023.

There are some impressive stats on those cars too. The Xpeng G9 is promising 300kW charging, up to 570 miles from the long range version, loads of space and a high quality finish. The Xpeng P7 on the other hand offers sleek design, an attractive starting price and again over 500km of range.

It's no small challenge launching a new car brand. Many column inches have been devoted to new brands trying to break into this market, but Xpeng is here - and if you live in Scandinavia or the Netherlands, you might find that your nearest Xpeng showroom isn't too far away.