SHANGHAI, July 5 Reuters Chinese electricvehicle maker Xpeng forecast sharp growth in deliveries in the second half of the year thanks to its new model that is taking on Tesla with competitive prices and smartdriving technologies.

Xpeng has received a significant amount of orders for its newly launched G6 pure electric crossover, president Brain Gu told reporters on Wednesday. That would help the company increase monthly sales to 15,000 units in the third quarter nearly double of June and May and to more than 20,000 units in the final quarter of the year, he added.

The upbeat outlook follows months of sales slumps and expanded losses for EV startups like Xpeng and Nio, even as bigger rivals Tesla and BYD posted record secondquarter deliveries amid an intensifying price war.

Xpeng, which saw firsthalf sales drop by 40, will start the delivery of its G6 compact crossover this month with a starting price 20 lower than Tesla39;s bestselling model of Model Y.

The Chinese firm launched the G6 at the Shanghai auto show in April as the first model built on its nextgeneration technology architecture that helps lower manufacturing costs.

Xpeng also touted its advanced driver assistance system XNGP, which will enable drivers of its models including G6 to use assisteddriving technologies similar to Tesla39;s Full SelfDriving FSD on urban roads in major cities. Tesla rolled out FSD four years ago but has yet to make it available in China despite customers urging the company to…