Chinese EV startup Xpeng Motor applies for U.S. IPO

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese EV startup Xpeng Motors officially filed for a U.S. initial public offering on August 8 to trade under the symbol “XPEV”, immediately following its rival Li Auto, which raised $1.1 billion through its debut on Nasdaq on July 30.

(Xpeng P7, photo source: Xpeng Motors)

The Guangzhou-based startup's IPO price range and number of shares to be issued have still been undetermined, and the amount of capital to be raised has remained unknown yet. The $100 million shown in the IPO prospectus is nothing but a placeholder that will likely change.

On July 20, the startup announced the signing of its Series C+ financing of around $500 million with a group of investors including Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse and Sequoia Capital China. The company said the funding round further enhances its commitment to serving the large and growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers in China by providing Smart EV experiences empowered by advanced technology.

Only half a month later, local media outlets reported that Xpeng Motor has raised $300 million in a new round of financing that is led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and involves Qatar Investment Authority. However, the EV manufacturer declined to comment over the report.

Founded in 2015, Xpeng Motor is chaired by He Xiaopeng, who previously served as co-founder of UC and former president of Alibaba's Mobile Business Group. Prior to the IPO, He was the majority shareholder with 31.6 percent, according to the prospectus. Besides, Xia Heng (co-founder and president), Gu Hongdi (vice chairman and president) and He Tao (co-founder and vice president) held equity stake of 4.9 percent, 2.8 percent and 1.6 percent in Xpeng Motors respectively.

The EV maker announced a few days ago that the deliveries of its second mass-produced model, the Xpeng P7, amounted to 1,641 units in July, a record-breaking figure in terms of the first-month deliveries of single startup-made model immediately after the scale delivery kicks off.

The company has secured in May the production license for its self-built fully-owned manufacturing plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, where the P7 BEVs are manufactured.

As of June 2020, Xpeng Motors has built 128 sales outlets in 63 cities and 65 service centers in 52 cities. Besides, it has signed up with nearly 200 supercharging stations located in 62 cities and has been given access to over 200,000 third-party charging piles so as to provide users with fast and efficient charging solutions.