(Yicai) April 11 -- Xiaomi's first electric vehicle is already making waves in China's car market as rival Xpeng today cut the price of its G6 to CNY179,900 from CNY189,900 (USD24,860 from USD26,240).

The G6 580 Plus, a long-range edition of the electric sport utility vehicle launched last June, will cost CNY10,000 (USD1,380) less, the Guangzhou-based rival of Nio and Li Auto announced today in its third price change ever for the G6.

The move shows how China's EV price wars are intensifying after phonemaker Xiaomi unleashed its first EV model in late March. Xpeng's latest discount brings its high-voltage 800V silicon-carbide platform and smart driving system to the reach of buyers looking for an EV priced below CNY180,000. Moreover, the firm also cut the prices of all other G6 variants by about CNY20,000 today.

This is the third sales price adjustment for the G6 which was initially priced at CNY209,900. The previous CNY10,000 cut took place last month and the one before that was last year.

The G6 is built on Xpeng's Smart Electric Platform Architecture platform and features smart driving similar to Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot, per the firm. Due to platform advantages and sustained reductions in supply chain costs, the company can cut the price to make such advanced technologies available to the masses, it added.

The threshold to access cutting-edge tech is becoming increasingly low as Xpeng's latest price cut could spur an era of quick popularization, Cui Ye, an executive at the planning department, said to Yicai.

Editors: Xu Wei, Emmi Laine