Chinese electric car maker Xpeng raises $587m

Eastern Bell also came into the round as a new investor, while several existing backers – including Hillhouse Capital and Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng’s K11 Investment – re-upped, according to an Xpeng statement. The company has now raised more than RMB10 billion since its inception in 2014 and is valued at nearly RMB25 billion.

The Series B round in its entirety came to RMB6.2 billion. The first tranche, which was led by Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group, and IDG Capital, closed at RMB2.2 billion in January. Yunfeng Capital, Apoletto – a vehicle backed by DST Global founder Yuri Milner – China International Capital Corporation, GGV Capital, Morningside, and Matrix Partners China were among the other investors.

Guangzhou-based Xpeng was named after its founder, who previously established UCWeb, a mobile web browser that was acquired by Alibaba. Deliveries of the company’s latest flagship product, a high-end sport-utility vehicle, will begin near the end of the year. The vehicle, called the G3, is equipped with a fully-rotating rooftop camera, 20 sensors, automatic parking, and level 2.5 autonomous driving capabilities.

“Xpeng is an important part of Primavera’s exposure to the new energy vehicle space. The development of internet and artificial intelligence technology is reshaping the automotive industry, and this will bring considerable change to people’s driving and travel experiences,” said Fred Hu, founder of Primavera. He added that Xpeng has the potential to become a star player in the smart electric vehicle industry.

The company completed three tranches of Series A funding in 2017. The investors included Lightspeed China and Ucar, a Chinese chauffeured car services provider.

Smart electric vehicles have attracted strong interest from PE and strategic investors across Asia. China is one of the largest markets globally for electric vehicles and hybrid cars, with several well-funded start-ups such as Nio, Skio Matrix, CHJ Automotive, and WM Motor Technology, as well as Xpeng.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• automobiles
• Primavera
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• Morningside Technologies
• Growth capital