A view of Xpeng's G3 model in an experience store in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province in December Photo: VCG

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-up Xpeng Motors apologized two days after its latest G3 model was released on July 10. But users of the current version of the G3 - G3 2019 - don't seem to be accepting the apology.

Over the past weekend, hundreds of Xpeng owners parked their vehicles outside the company's headquarters in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, asking the company to explain why its prices had changed or take some real measures to compensate them. Some of the owners pasted slogans on the back of their cars, saying "you'll be sorry if you buy it," according to media reports.

Owners' collective assertion of their rights happened just about three months after the previous model, also the first commercial EV model by Xpeng, was mass delivered in March this year. It was rolled out at the end of last year.

The latest model - G3 2020 - has better battery mileage that can run as high as 520 kilometers on one charge and better functions such as Level-2.5 autonomous driving, which was newly added. In comparison, the longest mileage for the old G3 was 365 kilometers.

The new model is scheduled to be mass delivered in August.

What the customers complain most about is the price. The starting price of the new model with 520-kilometer mileage is 6,000 yuan ($872) less than the 2019 edition, which cost 159,800 yuan,

An apology written by Xpeng's founder and chairman He Xiaopeng said that the quick upgrade in hardware had caused frustration for users. "We got unintended results, despite using the right logic, in a changing environment," He said.

Ability to survive

The backlash that Xpeng has encountered shows that the rising cohort of EV makers has a problem in grasping and reacting to market trends. Technological innovation, high safety standards, reasonable prices, timely deliveries as well as maintaining customer relations are all testing their ability to survive.

Many participants are vying for a share of China's EV market. The "new guard" represented by NIO and Xpeng, which bet on the internet model in doing business, faces tough competition from traditional EV players such as state-owned BAIC and Shenzhen-based BYD. 

It's also under pressure from foreign players that are entering the Chinese market, such as US-based Tesla.

Data show that the majority of new-energy vehicles sales in China from around 70,000 units in 2014 through 1.25 million units last year were made by BYD and BAIC due to their high cost performance.

As vehicles are becoming more intelligent and digitalized, backed by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, it seems that vehicles are more like computers on four wheels instead of complex, gasoline-reliant industrial machines.

Consumers who have a more or less intelligent EV do know that the type of cars they buy will upgrade quickly to keep up with technology trends. However, the launch gap between Xpeng's G3 2019 and G3 2020 was less than half a year, which consumers never anticipated.

Even if they are tech-savvy and willing to pay to be among the first to get a fresh driving experience, most consumers can't accept that they'll be changing cars every year as if they were upgrading smartphones. 

For those traditional combustion-engine cars, it requires at least four to five years to upgrade or revamp into a new model.

Disruption vs rules

The new-guard EV makers are indeed a disruptive force to challenge traditional automakers with their own advantages, but they also need to respect basic rules in the decades-old industry - otherwise, it will be hard to gain a firm foothold in the market in the long run.

In the Xpeng case, salespeople should have told potential buyers about the upcoming new model. Some consumers bought an old G3 model just one day before the new one was rolled out, media reports said, which has seriously harmed consumers' trust in the brand by neglecting their right to know.

In comparison, traditional automakers usually release information about their upcoming models via public statements or auto shows to make sure that their potential customers have the necessary information to make a final choice.

Xpeng is facing pressure to survive on the fundraising side as investors are becoming more cautions in the EV industry. 

It's also racing to gain market share especially ahead of Tesla's Model 3 to be locally produced at the end of this year. The company should learn to strike a balance: consumers' interests count for a start-up.