Chinese authorities have given money to electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors, which is called a Tesla competitor. The company received 500 million yuan ($ 76.9 million) from the government of southern China’s Guangdong province, CNBC reports. According to the manufacturer, this money is needed to “accelerate the expansion of the company’s business.”
Xpeng is headquartered in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. In the region, special attention is paid to vehicles powered by new energy sources and the development of autonomous driving technologies.
Last summer, Xpeng went public. During the IPO, the company blew up the market by selling over 99.7 million shares for $ 15 each. The automaker earned about $ 1.5 billion from this. Prior to its public debut, Xpeng raised $ 1.7 billion from investors including Chinese giants Alibaba and Xiaomi Corp.
In January 2021, Xpeng announced a new autonomous driving feature for electric vehicles. Called Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP), the P7 flagship sedan will automatically change lanes, accelerate or decelerate, and overtake cars and take motorways.
Xpeng is a Chinese electric vehicle startup. The Xpeng P7 sedan, a direct competitor to the Tesla Model 3, began deliveries last June. The company sold 27 thousand vehicles in 2020.