Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng sits next to the company’s P7 electric sedan as he addresses the media at the 2020 Beijing Motor Show.
Evelyn Cheng | CNBC
GUANGZHOU, China – Electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors has received a new round of investment from the government in China’s southern province of Guangdong.
Funding of 500 million yuan ($ 76.9 million) from Guangdong Yuecai Investment Holdings Co., the province’s investment arm, will be used to “accelerate the company’s business expansion,” Xpeng said in a statement.
Xpeng is headquartered in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. The region focused on new vehicles with energy and autonomous driving. BYD, a manufacturer of electric cars with Warren Buffett support, is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong’s technology center. And self-governing start-ups such as Pony.ai, WeRide and AutoX are all based in the province.
The investment will help accelerate the “strategic transition of the automotive industry in Guangdong,” Xpeng said in a press release.
Since its first US $ 1.5 billion public offering in August, Xpeng has continued to raise money to fuel its growth, increase production and fight internal rivals, as well as Tesla. In September, Xpeng received 4 billion yuan in funding from an arm of the Guangzhou government. In January, the company secured a 12.8 billion yuan line of credit from major state-owned banks.
The company focused on building its production base with two wholly owned factories – one in Zhaoqing and another currently under construction in Guangzhou.
After a big increase in 2020, Xpeng shares are under pressure this year and have fallen by about 18% so far.