XPeng’s L03 is its most emotional design yet, says the man who shaped it

The XPeng L03 is the most emotional car the brand has built, according to Joan Melenchon, creative design director at XPeng’s Shanghai design studio, who presented the coupe SUV at its Australian and New Zealand launch on the Gold Coast.

“XPeng will always try to balance emotional and rational expressions into our designs,” Melenchon says. “The new L03 represents the most emotional expression in our design family.” He describes the brief as liveliness, trend-forward thinking and advanced technology in one package, aimed at younger owners “who really want to live an exciting lifestyle” and are eager to try new experiences.

The car measures 4,650mm long, 1,920mm wide and 1,600mm tall on a 2,850mm wheelbase, with a lower roof, a fastback tail and spoiler lines that XPeng says are intended to make it read as slimmer and sportier than a conventional SUV. Feature lines have been simplified, so the character comes from the muscular front guards and the rear shoulders rather than creases down the flanks.

Aerodynamics were part of the styling brief rather than an afterthought. Active aero elements, frameless doors, flush glazing and hidden belt mouldings help the L03 to a drag coefficient of 0.228, which XPeng claims is in the top five for mass-produced electric SUVs. Buyers can choose an 18-inch low-drag wheel for efficiency or a 20-inch five-spoke for the sportier look.

The face carries over the family look established by the M03 sedan, with pixel-pattern lighting, while the rear is defined by a full-width tail lamp fused into a ducktail spoiler, flanked by vertical air outlets.

Inside, Melenchon says the approach is more human-centred and playful than the exterior. XPeng describes the cabin as a room rather than a machine, with a boomerang-shaped curve sweeping across the dash, emotional surfaces up front and technical layers behind. Music playback is paired with a synchronised visual pulse in the ambient lighting. Trim includes a velvet headliner, soft-touch panels and real brushed-metal speaker grilles, in a choice of light grey or dark grey.

Five exterior colours are offered: Phantom Purple with a metallic coat using nano-sized aluminium particles, Silver Frost, Midnight Black with a high-jet-black pigment, pearl-coated Rock Grey and a three-coat Arctic White. A Black Edition with a black exterior package, black calipers and black 20-inch wheels was shown as a global launch special.

“We are one team, we have one mission,” Melenchon says. “Our hope is that this amazing car will have a great impact here.”

The L03 is priced from $49,990 in New Zealand, with first arrivals expected in November. Melenchon’s emotional brief sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from Chery design boss Steve Eum’s case for familiar-looking cars, made in Auckland a fortnight ago.