In its recent fundraising round, a Chinese electric car start-up,company Xpeng Motors has raised 4 billion Yuan ($587 million) which valued the organization at approximately 25 billion Yuan.
The company stated that the fundraising round was led by the Primavera Capital Group with venture capital investors including Morningside Venture Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group and Xpeng’s Founder and CEO, Xiaopeng He. The investment arm of Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng’s K11 brand and Eastern Bell Venture Capital also participated in the round.
Until now,Xpeng has raised more than 10 billion Yuan from its investors from their previous fundraising round in January, which was led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Foxconn Technology Co Ltd. Alibaba also participated in Xpeng’s fundraising round in December.
Xpeng aims to compete with market leaders including Tesla Inc.
Founded in 2014, and headquartered in Guangzhau, Xpeng manufactures Internet-based smart electric cars with data engine and electric engine technology.
It is one of a few Chinese start-ups which is speeding up the development of battery-powered technology in vehicles and aims to contend with global pioneers such as Tesla Inc.
In January, the company showcased its electric car model G3 at International CES in Las Vegas, USA. The G3 car comes with innovative features like sword-style lighting, one of a kind panoramic windshield and driver’s seat comes standard with a 12.3-inch full HD LCD panel and a 15.6-inch ultra-wide HD touchscreen.
According to the International Energy Agency, Chinese drivers buy more new cars, and more EVs, than anywhere else in the world. Global annual sales of EVs had surpassed one million for the first time in 2017, and China (where EV sales doubled in 2017) accounted for more than half of those. Of the estimated two million EVs that are expected to be on the roads by the end of 2018, 40 percent will be in China.
Xpeng plans to launch its first car model G3 this year. It additionally plans to build 150 supercharging stations and stores in major cities across the nation.
