The Xpeng P7 received its import permit for research purposes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) last week.
Such permits allow vehicles manufactured outside the U.S. to be tested on public roads in the United States.
Xpeng Motors has also received a renewed Autonomous Vehicles Testing Permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of the California State Transportation Agency.
These qualifications mean that the Xpeng P7, equipped with advanced Smart Electric Platform Architecture (SEPA), has met all the requirements of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP) for imported vehicles, and can conduct road tests in California.
“Testing on the roads in the US will supplement the tremendous amount of tests we’ve already done in China. It’s another step forward for our closed-loop R&D approach to autonomous driving, including developing full-scenario vehicle perception capabilities, positioning, planning, decision-making, testing and upgrading. This is the only way to maintain our long-term competitive advantage,” said Dr. Xinzhou Wu, View President of Autonomous Driving at Xpeng Motors.
Earlier in March, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT) verified that the P7’s driving range reaches 706km (438.7 miles) NEDC, the longest range among EVs in China.
The P7 also completed its 120-day winter test in Feb this year under -35°C temperature conditions in Red River Valley Automotive Test Center, Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, China.
