Xpeng has a new flagship, and it is enormous. The GX is a six-seat full-size SUV that has just opened for pre-sale in China. It is longer than a Range Rover, and for now it is a China-only car.

A big SUV by any measure

The GX measures 5,265 mm long on a 3,115 mm wheelbase, which makes it longer than a long-wheelbase Range Rover and squarely a full-size, three-row machine. Inside it runs a six-seat layout, two seats per row, the format Chinese buyers want in a family flagship. Two powertrains are offered. The pure-electric version claims 750 km of range on an 800-volt silicon-carbide system with fast 5C charging. The extended-range version pairs a smaller battery with a petrol generator for 430 km of electric range and around 1,585 km all up. Pre-sales in China open at 399,800 yuan, which converts to roughly $86,000, although Chinese list prices never map cleanly onto Australian drive-away figures once tax, shipping and local margin are added.

The robotaxi pitch

Xpeng is selling the GX as more than a large SUV. It rides on the company's SEPA 3.0 platform and runs four of Xpeng's own Turing chips, which the company says is enough compute for its second-generation assisted-driving system and, eventually, robotaxi duty. Whether any of that hardware does anything useful on Australian roads is a separate question. Our road rules, mapping and approval process mean the headline autonomy figures from China rarely translate. Treat the chip count as a China story until proven otherwise.

What this means for Australia

Here is the part that matters locally. The GX is not on Xpeng's confirmed Australian list. The brand has just taken direct control of its Australian and New Zealand operations, ending its arrangement with former distributor TrueEV, and that pair is still headed to court in October. What Xpeng has committed to here is the updated G6 mid-size SUV, the X9 people mover due around the middle of the year, and the larger G9L expected later. The GX flagship sits above all of them, and nobody at Xpeng Australia has put it on the record.

Cartell Assessment

The GX tells you where Xpeng's ambition is pointed, and it is not pointed at the family hatchback end of the market. This is a brand chasing Li Auto and the BYD flagships in China's six-seat luxury fight, and the GX is its weapon. For an Australian buyer, the more useful news is duller. Xpeng now runs its own shop here, which should mean cleaner pricing, real warranty backing and a service network that answers to the factory rather than a contracted middleman. That is worth more than a chip you cannot legally use yet.

AU Outlook

Do not hold your breath for the GX in an Australian showroom. Watch instead for the X9 people mover, the next confirmed Xpeng launch here and a car that will land against the Kia Carnival and the electric Zeekr 009. Pricing is the open question. If Xpeng's direct operation undercuts what TrueEV was charging for the G6, that is the signal the new structure is working. The GX can wait.