In short:
A Chinese EV company says it will pay customers of its former Australian distributor who are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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who → say → dollars
XPeng made the statement after the dismissal of a Federal Court case between it and Australian company TrueEV.
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XPeng → make → it
Customers have been told to contact XPeng Australia to get access to payments, reimbursements and parts, but creditors are still in the dark.
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creditors → tell → dark
Prabin Gautam was travelling at 85 kilometres per hour on the Princes Freeway between Melbourne and Geelong when his electric vehicle sounded an alert and suddenly slowed to walking pace.
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vehicle → travel → pace
Then it stopped moving altogether.
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it → stop → ?
"I thought, 'What's going on?'" Mr Gautam said.
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Gautam → think → ?
For about seven minutes he was stuck in his XPeng G6 on the freeway, unable to get out as traffic streamed past.
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traffic → stick → freeway
"I was really freaked out," Mr Gautum said.
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Gautum → freak → ?
"I could not open the window.
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I → open → window
I could not open the door.
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I → open → door
I could not do anything and everyone is beeping at me.
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everyone → do → me
"I just have to close my eyes and then I thought, 'OK, look, I'll have to try again.'
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I → close → eyes
After a few minutes he was able to slowly drive his car onto the side of the road.
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he → drive → road
"My hands were shaking and there were still a lot of errors coming through," Mr Gautam said.
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Gautam → shake → errors
When Mr Gautum eventually got hold of the company that sold him his XPeng, the news was not good.
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news → get → XPeng
"They knew about it in other cars by the sound of it," he said.
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he → know → it
Mr Gautam bought the car in February 2025 for $64,000 from XPeng Port Melbourne, which was operated by TrueEV.
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which → buy → TrueEV
Since the incident in June, he has received the same error message twice and says he only feels confident to drive his car short distances on quiet roads.
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he → receive → roads
Mr Gautam spent weeks seeking a refund or replacement vehicle, but he said aside from a few noncommittal emails he has been ignored by both companies.
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he → spend → companies
Left in the lurch
Mr Gautam is one of hundreds of customers and creditors left in the lurch after XPeng terminated its five-year distribution agreement with TrueEV at the start of the year.
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XPeng → leave → year
TrueEV was placed into receivership in March and the two companies have been locked in a legal battle ever since.
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companies → place → battle
The ABC has been contacted by 14 customers and creditors who say they have been left out of pocket by TrueEV.
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they → contact → TrueEV
Most say they are owed between $1,000 and $9,000, including many who have not receive the $5,000 cashback they were offered.
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they → say → cashback
Some say they cannot get parts, have not received accessories they paid for, or have had to pay for their own servicing and want compensation.
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they → say → compensation
TrueEV initially told the ABC it could answer questions about the situation after the resolution of its federal court case with XPeng, in which TrueEV was challenging the legality of XPeng's decision to cancel its five-year distribution deal.
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TrueEV → tell → deal
That case was dismissed today after it was revealed TrueEV could not provide the required court surety.
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TrueEV → dismiss → surety
"We are very disappointed with the outcome of today's judgement," True EV's Jason Clarke said in a statement.
"
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Clarke → disappoint → statement
TrueEV will now review its options, including appeal or bringing a new case to trial.
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TrueEV → review → trial
"We will advise the market in due course."
XPeng recognised that some customers had "experienced frustration" and assured owners they would be looked after.
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they → advise → owners
"Where an eligible cashback or extended warranty commitment made by TrueEV is appropriately documented and verified, XPeng ANZ is working directly with the customer to provide appropriate support," it said in a statement.
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it → extend → statement
Creditors owed a lot more
Ultra Tune Australia was contracted to provide servicing and roadside assistance for XPeng customers who were promised five years of free services.
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who → owe → services
Ultra Tune national operations and business development manager Nick Tatsis said the company was owed more than $100,000.
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company → say → 100,000
"Unfortunately, we haven't been paid, so we've had to cease those operations till we find a solution," he said.
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he → pay → solution
That has meant XPeng owners have had to pay for servicing themselves and try to recoup that money from TrueEV or XPeng.
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owners → mean → TrueEV
Mr Tatsis says his company paid for licensing and training for its franchisees about how to work on XPeng electric vehicles.
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company → say → vehicles
He said franchisees also set up servicing facilities at a considerable cost.
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franchisees → say → cost
"It was a very hard call to make, because XPeng customers are our customers and we don't want to let them down," Mr Tatsis said.
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Tatsis → make → them
"We don't want to say no in any instance, but we're not getting paid for the services and we've had no other choice."
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we → want → choice
Still waiting to be paid
Melbourne graphic designer Yibo Li was engaged by TrueEV to create marketing content for the XPeng brand in Australia between October last year and February this year.
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Li → wait → October
He created visuals for the website and dealerships point of sale and worked on the $5,000 cashback campaign.
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He → create → campaign
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia