Xpeng has confirmed that its second Mona-branded model, the Mona L03, is heading to Australia, where the brand has openly positioned it against the Geely EX5 and BYD Atto 3 on price. The coupe-SUV has just gone on sale in China and launched across Europe, and it’s the first model in the affordable Mona sub-brand to offer a choice of pure-electric and range-extender powertrains.
Its confirmation for a right-hand-drive market as close as Australia inevitably raises the question closer to home: is there room for it in Xpeng Malaysia’s line-up, and if so, who would it fight?
Let’s get the naming out of the way first. Xpeng says the Mona range uses “M” for sedans and “L” for SUVs, the two letters forming part of the “Mona Lisa” name the sub-brand is built around. The original Mona M03 is the liftback sedan that became Xpeng’s best-seller in China, crossing 270,000 deliveries and accounting for more than 40% of the company’s volume in 2025. The L03 takes that value formula into the coupe-SUV segment, and it’s the one being lined up for export.
The Mona L03 in brief
The L03 is a midsize crossover measuring 4,650 mm long, with a rakish, Model Y-style roofline that sets it apart from the upright EX5 and Atto 3. It slots below the existing G6 in Xpeng’s SUV hierarchy and, unlike the 800-volt G6, rides on a 400-volt platform. The EV uses a 245 PS (183 kW) rear motor – with a dual-motor AWD option in some markets – paired with LFP batteries of roughly 56 to 71 kWh for up to 520 km of WLTP range, and a 10-80% DC top-up takes around 20 minutes.
The more interesting variant for our market might be the EREV range-extender, which Xpeng markets as the Kunpeng Super Hybrid. It keeps the same 245 PS drive motor and adds a 1.5 litre petrol engine (86 PS/63 kW) that acts purely as a generator. With a 37.2 kWh battery, Xpeng quotes around 215 km of electric-only running (WLTP) and up to 1,017 km of total range. As with every Xpeng, tech is the headline: a triple “Turing AI” chip setup delivering up to 2,250 TOPS, with the camera-based VLA 2.0 supervised self-driving system confirmed for Australia in 2027 at no extra charge. For the full variant-by-variant spec breakdown, see our Xpeng L03 launch report.
In China, the electric L03 starts at roughly the equivalent of RM130,000 to RM145,000 – before the import premium any export market applies. That figure is the whole reason this is worth discussing for Malaysia.
Where Xpeng sits in Malaysia today
The local Xpeng range is currently premium: the G6 from RM178,888, and the recently updated X9 flagship MPV from RM279,888. Both sit well above the mass-market EV crowd.
Crucially, Xpeng has already begun CKD assembly in Malaysia. The first locally-assembled G6 has rolled off the line at EP Manufacturing Berhad’s (EPMB) plant in Melaka, with the X9 to follow.
EPMB’s filing noted a first right of offer to assemble future Xpeng models, with the D02 and D03 codenames specifically mentioned. In other words, the pipeline for cheaper, higher-volume Xpeng models built locally already exists on paper.
The rivals it would face
If the L03 came to Malaysia to take on the eMas 7 and Atto 3, it would be walking into the most fiercely contested corner of our EV market.
The Proton eMas 7 is the value benchmark. The CKD EV is priced at RM103,800 for the Prime and RM119,800 for the Premium, backed by 49.52 kWh and 60.22 kWh batteries and up to 410 km of WLTP range. There’s also the eMas 7 PHEV from RM105,800 to RM129,800, which has proven that Malaysians are very open to a plug-in hybrid in this segment – directly relevant when weighing up the L03’s EREV option.
The BYD Atto 3 facelift landed in June at RM125,800 for the FWD Ultra and RM138,800 for the RWD Premium, the latter getting the Evo upgrade with 313 PS, a 74.88 kWh battery and 510 km WLTP. Notably, BYD rushed initial units in just before July 1 – more on why that matters below.
Does the L03 have a place here?
Xpeng Malaysia currently has nothing below the RM178k G6, so a sub-G6 coupe-SUV aimed squarely at the RM100k-140k EV heartland would give Bermaz Xpeng the volume model it’s missing, and the Mona sub-brand exists precisely to play that game. Dimensionally, the L03 lines up with both the eMas 7 and Atto 3, and its self-driving and AI story is a genuine differentiator against the eMas 7’s Level 2 ADAS and the Atto 3’s more conventional kit.
But the entire proposition hinges on one thing: local assembly. From July 1, MITI’s revised EV policy effectively imposes a steep price floor on fully-imported (CBU) EVs – the very reason BYD scrambled to get Atto 3 stock in before the deadline. A CBU Mona L03 would be dead on arrival at anything resembling eMas 7 money. To land at RM120k-ish and actually fight, it would need to be CKD at EPMB, the way the G6 already is. The good news is that the localisation framework – and even those D02/D03 codenames – suggests Xpeng and Bermaz are thinking exactly along these lines.
The realistic timeline is the catch. G6 CKD has only just started and the X9 is next in the queue, so an L03 would be a later addition at best – and RHD versions haven’t even been fully detailed yet. There’s also the open question of whether an affordable Mona model would get the full Turing AI and VLA 2.0 hardware in our market, or a pared-back version.
The L03 makes a lot of strategic sense for Xpeng Malaysia – arguably more sense than another premium halo car – but only as a locally-assembled model, and not before the current CKD rollout beds down. If Bermaz can get it built in Melaka and priced in the RM110k-140k window, an EREV variant in particular could be a very pointed answer to the eMas 7 PHEV, while the EV goes head-to-head with the Atto 3. As a CBU import under the new rules, though, it’s a non-starter. Watch the EPMB assembly slate – that’s where this story will actually be decided.
Would you take a Xpeng L03 over the eMas 7 or Atto 3 if it landed around RM120k? And does the range-extender option appeal more than a full EV for Malaysian conditions? Let us know in the comments.
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