As we bid adieu to 2024, XPeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng is setting the stage for a big 2025. The EV executive posted an internal letter to XPeng staff outlining the company’s key goals for the upcoming year, imploring all to prepare for fiercer competition in the EV segment and even predicted a price war on the immediate horizon.
During the last hours of 2024, XPeng Motors ($XPEV) operates as one of the EV leaders in China. We at Electrek have covered much of the automaker’s rise to prominence, especially as it has expanded the availability of its EV lineup to global markets like Europe.
XPeng’s portfolio currently consists of seven all-electric models, including the new MONA M03 launched in 2024. Additionally, the company has established its own network of EV chargers and proprietary autonomous driving technology. It also has a business arm dedicated to aerial eVTOL travel, including a flying car prototype.
In 2025, XPeng Motors looks to continue to build on the momentum it has garnered in recent years. However, the company’s founder and CEO relayed that there is still room for improvement for the automaker to remain competitive and, in many ways, lead the industry in China.
Source: XPeng Motors / Weibo
XPeng starts 2025 to become #1 overseas
Many businesses may be slowing down and shuttering for a few days to ring in 2025, but XPeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng remains dialed in. The CEO recently shared an internal letter with the XPeng staff, obtained by the Chinese media outlet CnEVPost.
In the letter, Xiaopeng outlined the company goals for the coming year as well as long term targets to continue global growth in hopes of becoming a household name in EVs. To get there, the XPeng founder said the company must be resilient as he predicts China’s EV industry will enter an elimination phase between 2025 and 2027. As such, he’s warned his staff to prepare for fiercer competition next year, going as far as stating a bold prediction. Per the internal letter:
The market will definitely see fiercer competition in 2025, and I can even make a bold prediction that price war will ignite from January.
Innovation and efficiency will be core tenets of XPeng’s strategy in the future to remain a leader in EVs in 2025 and beyond. Xiaopeng told staff that vehicle companies that lack innovative technology and core competencies, such as comprehensive R&D and marketing capabilities, will miss their opportunity for sustained growth. This could lead to a fading into irrelevance, as warned by Xiaopeng, over the next three years since the Chinese EV market is so saturated.
New Energy Vehicle (NEV) adoption continues to soar overseas, but an influx of similar EV styles and configurations will trigger even more competition and the vital need to stand out. Here are some additional goals for 2025 outlined by the XPeng CEO in the letter:
Over the next three years, XPeng needs to improve its “systemization capabilities.
The company must increase its capabilities’ upper limit through systemic innovation, acquire more comprehensive capabilities in the lower limit, and achieve a balance.
In the next 10 years, Xiaopeng wants to become a leading global AI car company in products, business, organization, and globalization.
The company plans to launch a new or facelifted model nearly every quarter in 2025.
Expand hiring to over 6,000 new employees next year.
XPeng 2025 will be the year XPeng’s internationalization strategy will be fully accelerated.
Xpeng has already entered 30 countries and regions but intends to exceed 60 by the end of 2025.
While China is its home and most prominent market, XPeng’s CEO sees bigger plans for the brand on a global level. The 2025 goal to “fully accelerate” internationalization is step one in Xiaopeng’s strategy to achieve half of the company sales coming from overseas while becoming the number 1 Chinese mid-to-high-end NEV brand in sales share within the next ten years.
He Xiaopeng told staff that global expansion requires close collaboration between international and domestic colleagues in all departments to achieve said goals. In the letter, Xiaopoeng called XPeng’s strengths in unique products and adjacent technologies “ammunitions” that, when organized more systematically, will get XPeng through the 2025 elimination round and into China’s qualifying round.
All eyes are on 2025 as XPeng remains one of the key Chinese automakers to watch.
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It’s Labor Day weekend, which means big deals on car lots across America – especially if you’re shopping for a new electric vehicle to help with your labor. We’ve rounded up the best offers on electric pickups, vans, and even a great option for ride share drivers!
Sure, there’s a bit of irony in pitching “work vehicles” on a holiday meant for not working – but for many small business owners, work is part of who they are. And with the $7,500 federal EV tax credit set to expire, plus a wave of great Labor Day deals on work-ready EVs, now might be the best time yet to plug into a new electric ride.
Here are some of the standout electric vehicles offers we found this Labor Day weekend (2025), organized by vehicle type.
Electric pickup | F-150 Lightning
F-150 Lightning; via Ford.
The “Ford for America,” summer sales event continues through Labor Day with interest-free 0% financing, $0 down payment, and zero payments for up to 90 days for retail customers. Ford is also throwing in $0 maintenance for 24 months.
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But wait, there’s more! Ford Authority is reporting that a complimentary home charger and standard installation might also be included as part of the Ford Power Promise promotion happening at participating dealers in select markets with the purchase of a new F-150 Lightning pickup through the end of September.
Lease customers aren’t being left out, either. You can lease a 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning XLT 4P 311A pickup at $399 per month for 36 months, with “just” $399 due at signing (basically your first month’s payment).
For your money, you get a capable, Ultium-based electric cargo van with more room than your college dorm and a nationwide dealer network to keep it up and running when you need it most.
Electric van (hon. mention) | Mercedes eSprinter
2024 eSprinter; via Mercedes-Benz.
Despite being based on the company’s existing diesel platform, Mercedes’ eSprinter has proven itself a capable urban hauler in the hands of Amazon, DHL, and countless European tradespeople. Despite that, there are still a handful of leftover 2024 models hanging around dealer lots – enough that Mercedes is offering up to $30,000 (!) Customer Cash on any new ’24MY eSprinter purchased from dealer stock.
As you can imagine, there’s some fine print on that Customer Cash deal. It can’t be combined with Special APR programs through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS), but it can be combined with the Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Medium Fleet Program.
And, while we’re at it, it’s probably worth noting that serious road warriors will probably save more than $129/mo. in fuel alone.
If you prefer to own your vehicles after making payments on them for a few years, you can also get 0% interest financing on select ID.4s for up to 72 months. It’s important to note here that Volkswagen’s deals can vary wildly by region. That $129/mo. offer is available in California and a few other West Coast states, for example, but the electric crossover’s listed at $329 for 24 months with $4,499 due at signing in others.
Disclaimer: the vehicle models and financing deals above were sourced from CarsDirect, CarEdge, and (where mentioned) the OEM websites – and were current as of 29AUG2025. These deals may not be available in every market, with every discount, or for every buyer (the standard “with approved credit” fine print should be considered implied). Check with your local dealer(s) for more information.
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Sustainable construction experts McKinstry have teamed up with leading BESS developers Viridi and the Denver Public Library to deploy a first-of-its-kind solar and battery storage system that sets a new standard for fire safety.
The Denver Public Library sought a battery energy storage system (BESS) that could deliver cost savings without compromising safety for staff, visitors, or the architecturally significant, Michael Graves–designed structure itself. That required a battery backup solution that not only met the city’s fire safety standards, but also addressed public fears about the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.
That unique set of project priorities led the library to Viridi, makers of the RPSLinkEX battery solution that’s equipped with a unique, “passive Fail-Safe thermal management and anti-propagation technology” designed to prevent the sort of thermal runaway that leads to li-ion battery fires.
“Public facilities like the Denver Public Library are at the forefront of demonstrating that energy resilience and safety can go hand in hand,” said Jon M. Williams, CEO at Viridi. “This installation highlights how fail-safe battery storage can empower communities to maximize renewable energy, reduce costs, and maintain reliability – all without compromise.”
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Keeping it safe
Denver Public Library; by Michael Graves.
Viridi doesn’t talk too much about how its passive Fail-Safe thermal management system works, but if you’re picturing heat-dissipating layers, fire-resistant insulation, and strategically-placed phase change materials (or PCMs) limiting the transfer of heat from one cell to another if it begins to overheat, you’ve probably cracked it.
These passive safety features enable safer deployment scenarios in occupied buildings or near critical infrastructure by reducing dependence on active fire suppression systems like sprinklers or fire extinguishers, and convinced the City of Denver to move forward with the project, which is the city’s first-ever solar + battery storage system.
“The entire McKinstry team is very excited about developing and constructing the first Solar + BESS project for the City and County of Denver,” said Jon Ensley, Sr. Construction Project Engineer at McKinstry. “We are appreciative of all our partners and stakeholders who helped to achieve this goal. We value Viridi’s expertise in deploying this technology and the whole team has been great to work with.”
McKinstry says this latest solar project sets, “a new benchmark for how cities can combine renewable energy and battery storage without compromising safety.” And, with solutions like the RPSLinkEX building systems that meet city planners and politicians where they are, instead of trying to educated them about the objective, proven safety of li-ion batteries, Viridi is helping communities adopt cleaner, more resilient clean energy solutions sooner rather than later.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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China’s Dongfang Electric has installed a 26-megawatt offshore wind turbine, snatching the title of world’s most powerful from Siemens Gamesa’s 21.5 turbine in Denmark.
Photo: Dongfang Electric Corporation
The Chinese state-owned manufacturer announced today that it has installed the world’s most powerful wind turbine prototype at a testing and certification base. This turbine, the world’s largest for capacity and size, boasts a blade wheel diameter of more than 310 meters (1,107 feet) and a hub height of 185 meters (607 feet). Dongfang shipped the turbine’s nacelle earlier this month – the world’s heaviest – along with three blades.
This offshore wind turbine is designed for areas with wind speeds of 8 meters per second and above. With average winds of 10 meters per second, just one of these giants can generate 100 GWh of power annually, which is enough to power 55,000 homes. That’s enough to cut standard coal consumption by 30,000 tons and reduce CO2 emissions by 80,000 tons. Dongfang says it’s wind resistant up to 17 (200 km/h) on the extended Beaufort scale.
In May, Dongfang said it had completed static load testing on the turbine’s blades, and the turbine is now undergoing fatigue testing, which could take up to a year before the turbine is fully certified.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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