'If we can land it for that price, it's unheard of': Why XPeng can 're-ignite' the non-SUV segment with its Mona M03 hatch, following in the footsteps of the 2025 Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal and Toyota Camry

The boss of XPeng’s importer, Jason Clarke, told CarsGuide he thinks the Chinese upstart can help re-ignite interest in cars rather than SUVs again with its Mona M03.

The Mona M03 is one of XPeng’s most recent products, and it was shown for the first time outside of China at Everything Electric show in Sydney. It is similar to the Tesla Model 3, although it is slightly smaller and has a hatch-style tailgate rather than the traditional sedan-style body of the Model 3 or BYD Seal.

Clarke goes so far as to call the Mona M03 a “respectful nod to the Model 3” and is convinced that if he can make the business case to XPeng in China that the car can do its part to cater to part of the market that doesn’t want an SUV.

“Is there room in that [non-SUV] category? I gotta say, yes. Independently, I think there’s room for this and I think this car could potentially break open this category if the price-point is right,” he said.

Clarke said he was heading to China to make a business case for the M03 to launch in Australia. He argued just because he thinks the market can accommodate another popular sedan model, it wouldn’t work for just anything.

“I think if it was a regular sedan, no it wouldn’t work, but this is something different. The tech involved at this price point is crazy, and the thing is traditionally, you’re taught in marketing that you can’t have cheap and quality it’s one or the other. But the benchmark for quality is so high now, and if we can land it for that price point, it’s insane. It’s unheard of," said Clarke.

The Mona M03 is priced between the equivalent of $26,340 to $34,252 in China, although Clarke admits something too close to that starting price is unlikely in Australia.

“I don’t think you could see this for $20,000,” he said.

Clarke said it would need to be a volume seller to work in Australia.

“If we only sell 1000 of these, it’s not worth it, but if we re-ignite a category, why not.”

Clarke want the larger P7+ sedan complete with scissor doors here, too, but he said ultimately the local division might have to choose between the Mona and P7+ given the cost of right-hand drive development.

“I think it will be one or the other” he said.

He’d personally like to have it in the line-up, the sales potential is more for the M03.

“This is not a fast performance vehicle, this is a well priced technology-forward mainstream offering,” said Clarke of the M03.

The M03 is available with two lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery sizes, either a 51.8kWh providing 515km of range (according to the CLTC standard) with a 140kW electric motor, or a 62.2kWh battery providing 620km of range with a slightly more powerful 160kW motor. The M03 range is front-wheel drive only. It also has an absurdly low drag coefficient of 0.194 helping with its long driving range between charges and a comparatively low energy consumption of 11.5kWh/100km.

It has a focus on rear seat space and a standard electric rear hatch with a claimed 621 litres of boot space to maximise its versatility. It also has a similar cabin layout to the Model 3, with a panoramic glass roof and a minimalistic cockpit featuring a 15.6-inch central control screen but no digital instrument cluster.

If the M03 is added to XPeng’s range in 2026 it would be part of a massive expansion for the Chinese upstart, which currently only sells the G6 mid-size SUV. It plans to add the X9 people mover to its range before the end of 2025, with the G9 large SUV also arriving in 2026.

To top it off, the M03 will gain a small SUV spin-off, the G03, which will give it an even more affordable SUV offering than its G6, which starts from $54,800 before on-roads.