Chinese EV maker Xpeng raises another $300m
Alibaba Group has led a $300 million round for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng Motors. It comes barely two weeks after the company closed an extended Series C round of $500 million.
The previous round, announced on July 20, featured Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China, as well as hedge funds Aspex Management and Coatue Management. The latest investment has not yet been officially announced. AVCJ was informed of the transaction by sources familiar with the situation.
Xpeng is reportedly looking to launch an IPO in the US as early as next month. The company declined to comment on the matter.
Last week, industry peer Li Auto closed up 43% on its first day of trading on NASDAQ following a $1.1 billion IPO. It is the second Chinese EV manufacturer to go public in the US after Nio.
The Alibaba-led round takes Xpeng’s total funding to approximately $2.6 billion. This includes the first tranche of the Series C, which came in a $400 million last November. Xiaopeng He, Xpeng's founder, and Xiaomi were among the investors. The company is also backed by the likes of Primavera Capital Group, Morningside Ventures, Eastern Bell Capital, IDG Capital, Yunfeng Capital, GGV Capital, and Matrix Partners China.
In supporting Xpeng, Alibaba joins a string of Chinese internet giants with exposure to the EV space. Tencent Holdings is the largest external shareholder of Nio as is Meituan-Dianping in Li Auto. Baidu has been a consistent backer of WM Motor Technology.
Xpeng was established by He in 2015, a year after he sold web browser UCWeb to Alibaba. A longstanding Tesla fan, He backed an EV development team that spun out from Guangzhou Automotive Industry Group, which led to the creation of Xpeng. He nurtured this interest while serving as president of Alibaba’s mobile business group.
The company was one of the first Chinese EV manufacturers with production model cars on the road. It launched the G3, a sport-utility vehicle, in 2018 and followed up with the P7, a sports sedan, in April. The P7, which starts at RMB229,900 ($32,900), has the longest single-charge cruising range of any China-made EV. It is also defined as “the second generation of smart cars,” capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates of most functions.
China is the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) market. According to the China Insights Consultancy, NEV sales rose from 300,000 units in 2016 to 1.1 million units last year. They are expected to reach 4.1 million by 2024.
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