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| China supports Tesla's rival Xpeng |
Xpeng, a manufacturer of smart electric cars, has received a new round of investment from the government of Guangdong Province in southern China.
In a statement, the company said: Funding 500 million yuan ($ 76.9 million) from Guangdong Provincial Investment Department Yuecai Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. It has been used to accelerate the expansion of the company's business.
Xpeng is headquartered in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, an area that focuses on new energies and autonomous vehicles.
BYD electric vehicle manufacturer Warren Buffett is headquartered in Shenzhen, the technology center in Guangdong Province.
Autonomous driving companies such as Pony.ai, WeRide, and AutoX are located in the county.
The investment will help accelerate the strategic transformation of the auto industry in Guangdong Province, Xpeng said in a press release.
Since it went public in the US for $ 1.5 billion in August, Xpeng has raised funds to fuel growth, increase production, and compete with domestic rivals and Tesla.
Xiaopeng received 4 billion yuan in financing from Guangzhou city government branches in September and 12.8 billion yuan in lines of credit from major public banks in January.
The company is building a manufacturing base with two wholly owned factories, one in Zhaoqing and the other under construction in Guangzhou.
After a sharp rise in 2020, Xpeng's share has come under pressure this year and has fallen nearly 18% since the start of the year.
The company sold 2,223 vehicles in February, down 63% from a record 1,015 vehicles in January, but at the same time an increase of 1,281% from February 2020 year-on-year.
According to the China Passenger Vehicle Association, Tesla's Model 3 and Y were among the best-selling cars in China in February.
Xpeng has reached milestone and celebrated the delivery of its 50,000th electric vehicle. Almost all sales take place in China, although the company has also shipped hundreds of cars to Norway in the past few months.
The company currently has two models, the Xpeng P7 and the Xpeng G3. The upcoming third model is expected to hit the market in the second half of this year and will be launched in China in the fourth quarter.