2027 Xpeng X9 facelift spied in Malaysia – 537 PS AWD, up to 615 km WLTP, 542 kW DC charging, CKD?

The facelifted Xpeng X9, launched in China and Thailand in March, looks to be finally coming to Malaysia soon. We spotted the refreshed luxury electric MPV on a trailer in Glenmarie – likely on its way to the nearby flagship showroom – so a local launch can’t be too long to go now.

It will likely coincide with the start of Xpeng’s CKD local assembly operations at the EP Manufacturing (EPMB) base in Melaka. Distributor Bermaz previously gave the second quarter of the year as a timeline for things to kick off, so the company is right on time, it seems.

Unlike the most recent update last year, which brought only minor spec changes, this latest facelift brings a significant reworking of the mechanicals. The single front motor has been boosted by 27 PS (20 kW) to 346 PS (255 kW), while torque holds steady at 450 Nm. New for global markets is a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup that produces a sum total of 537 PS (395 kW) and 640 Nm.

Battery sizes have also been increased to 94.8 kWh (up from 84.5 kWh) for the LFP pack and 110 kWh (up from 101.5 kWh) for the NMC unit; the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version is only available with the larger battery. This, together with some aerodynamic improvements, have netted a decent increase in WLTP range – 535 km (up from 500 km) for the smaller battery and 615 km (up from 590 km) with the bigger one, both with the single motor. The dual-motor AWD version obviously has a shorter range, at 580 km.

Charging speeds have also seen a massive jump to a whopping 537 kW for the 94.8 kWh battery and 542 kW for the 110 kWh pack (previously 317 kW max). All models now charge from 10 to 80% in a blistering 12 minutes, down from 20 minutes – deeply impressive for such large batteries.

On the outside, the facelifted X9 is differentiated through a new front fascia – this is lifted straight off the PowerX range extender version, which is expected to join the Malaysian lineup later on. You get a larger centre air intake that replaces the body-coloured hexagonal array, fitted with an active grille shutter working with the also-new corner air curtains to cut drag by 22 points.

Meanwhile, the rear bumper features a body-coloured lower section with a black valance – the inverse of what was offered before, in other words. The new-for-2025 20-inch multi-spoke wheels with Rolls-Royce-style self-righting centre caps have been retained for higher-end models, while the colour palette has been expanded to include two new colours – Polar Violet and Lambent Cyan.

The changes are just as minor on the inside, with a new steering wheel that centralises the Xpeng logo and adds a 360-degree camera shortcut button and a “Mode” switch, plus ayous wood trim and a new cloud rose and brown and white colour scheme.

Beyond that, the car is identical to before, sporting the same metallic ripple-effect air-con vents, a massive 17.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital instrument display, a 21.4-inch roof-mounted rear monitor, a rear fridge and 18-way power-adjustable second-row captain’s chairs with heating, ventilation, massage and one-touch “zero gravity” recline.

It’s good to see that the export X9 also gains features added to last year’s Chinese-market car, such as soft-closing front doors, ISOFIX mounts on both outer second-row seats (previously only on the right side) and the third row, and physical rear side window switches. The latter replaces the old capacitive ones.

Last but not least, the X9 gains the latest Turing AI chip for driver assists, offering up to 2,250 TOPs of power. This enables a second-generation visual-language-action (VLA) model that is said to improve the car’s highly-automated driving features. The company says it is working towards full Level 4 autonomy with the system in “one to three years.”

Normally, this would be a China exclusive, given how much more advanced the country’s regulations are versus other countries. But Xpeng is different – it claims VLA 2.0 does not require local on-road training data to function and has already promised to bring the technology into Malaysia within the next two years. With the Turing AI chip being included in every facelifted X9, it should be ready for the update when it comes.

GALLERY: 2027 Xpeng X9 facelift in Bangkok

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