Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd., trading as XPeng Motors, commonly known as XPeng, is a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong, with offices in Mountain View, California, United States and Munich, Germany. XPeng stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
History
XPeng was co-founded in August 2014 by Xia Heng (Henry Xia) and He Tao, former senior executives at GAC Group with expertise in automotive technology and research and development. Initial backers included: the founder of UCWeb and former Alibaba executive He Xiaopeng, namesake and current Chairman of XPeng, and Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi. Prominent Chinese and international investors included Alibaba, Foxconn and IDG Capital. A further funding round in 2018 saw Alibaba's vice president Joseph Tsai join the corporate board of XPeng.[3][4]
XPeng's subsidiary in the United States, XMotors.ai held a permit for testing self-driving cars from the California Department of Motor Vehicles starting in September 2018.[5] The permit was revoked in February 2020 due to XPeng's failure to submit a disengagement report.[6] XPeng Motors then received a renewed Autonomous Vehicles Testing Permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles in March 2020.
XPeng started production of its first model, the XPeng G3 SUV, in November 2018.[7] It launched the G3 in December 2018 at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.[8][9]
Its second model, the P7, a four-door electric sedan, premiered in April 2019 at the 2019 Auto Shanghai show[10] and started deliveries to customers in June 2020.[11][12]
In May 2019, XPeng launched a vehicle for hire company with its own vehicles to serve Guangzhou.[13]
In November 2019, XPeng raised US$400 million in a third fundraising round, which saw Xiaomi join as a strategic investor of XPeng.[14][15] In July 2020, XPeng raised US$500 million from a group of investors including Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China.[16] In August 2020, XPeng raised an additional US$400 million from a group of investors including Alibaba, Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. On 27 August 2020, XPeng raised US$1.5 billion with an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares climbed more than 40% on the first day of trading.[17] In March 2021, the company received a US$76.9 million funding from Guangdong Yuecai Investment Holdings Co.[18] As of May 2021, 23% of XPeng shares are owned by He Xiaopeng, and 12% by Alibaba Group.
In the third quarter of 2021, revenue for XPeng rose over 500% compared to the year before. It had also increased its R&D team by about a third since the year before.[20]
In 2021, for the first time, XPeng started exporting its flagship P7 sedan. Its first international market was Norway, starting in August.[21] In August 2021, the company's P5 subcompact sedan became able to read traffic lights.[22] In September 2021, XPeng brought its P5 to market. It is the first production car to be equipped with lidar sensors for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).[23]
In October 2021, XPeng's subsidiary HT Aero announced $500 million in funding and the design for a flying car with a planned launch in 2024.[24][25][26]
In April 2023, XPeng unveiled the XPeng G6 at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show.[27]
On 21 June 2023, XPeng announced a partnership with ACCESS Europe in the field of in-car infotainment systems.[28]
In August 2023, it was announced XPeng had agreed to acquire the autonomous driving technology unit of the Beijing-headquartered vehicle for hire company, DiDi, in exchange for $744 million worth of shares.[29]
In March 2025, He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xpeng Motors, announced that the first mass production of the split flying car land aircraft carrier is expected to be achieved in 2026.[30][31]
Partnership with Volkswagen
On 26 July 2023, the Volkswagen Group announced its investment of $700 million in XPeng for purchasing 4.99% stake of the company. The VW Group will collaborate with XPeng to develop two VW brand electric models for the mid-size segment in the Chinese market in 2026.[32][33]
In February 2024, XPeng and Volkswagen Group signed a technology cooperation and joint development agreement on platform and software. Through joint procurement and the joint development of the vehicle design and engineering, the product development cycle will be shortened by more than 30%. Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. (VCTC) in Hefei is responsible for this cooperation.[34][35][36]
Technology
Autonomous driving (XPILOT)
XPeng uses a combination of lidar, radar, and a camera for driver aid. The lidar system uses laser light to recreate a 3D space by measuring the distance between itself and objects by measuring the time it takes for the laser light to bounce back.[43] Xinzhou Wu stated "Lidar will provide the 3D drivable space and precise depth estimation to small moving obstacles even like kids and pets, and obviously, other pedestrians and the motorbikes which are a nightmare for anybody who's working on driving",[44] The radar will provide the vehicles with the ability to detect the speed and location of an object. The camera will provide the vehicle with basic semantic information as stated by Xinzhou Wu. XPeng introduced their first vehicle equipped with LiDAR in 2021 with the P5.[44] In late 2024, XPeng released their first vehicle equipped with XPILOT that uses a new 'vision-only' sensor suite lacking a LiDAR sensor with the P7+
Production
Xpeng manufactures most of its cars in a wholly owned factory in Zhaoqing.[59][60] As of 2025, other production plants are under construction in Wuhan[61] and Guangzhou.[62][63] Cars for the European market are manufactured in Graz, Austria, in partnership with Magna Steyr.[64][65]
Overseas markets
Europe
In late December 2020, XPeng stated it would be delivering the G3 SUV to Norway. "Our launch in Europe comes just as consumers are shifting in increasingly large numbers to more sustainable personal transport, and at a tipping point where governments around the world are stepping up their zero-emission efforts", said He. XPeng has also decided that it would be selling its P7 EV sedan to the European market this year.[66]
As of 2021, XPeng has sold 211 G3 SUVs in Norway.[66] XPeng stated it will be tough to break into the European auto market but with policies in Europe further encouraging the purchase of EV cars, XPeng will seek to find those consumers. Without infrastructure to build XPeng vehicles, it will also add to the challenge of breaking into the European auto market.[66]
At IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, XPeng announced its expansion to the German and market starting 2024 and plans to enter further European markets later.
Products
Current vehicles
Discontinued vehicles
Subsidiary
XPeng AeroHT
AeroHT was originally a startup founded in Dongguan, Guangdong, in 2013, dedicated to the research, development, and manufacture of flying cars. In 2020, XPeng invested in the company and renamed it to XPeng AeroHT.[79] The company has released the XPeng Voyager X1 and XPeng Voyager X2 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. In 2024, it released an eVTOL vehicle carrier named "Land Carrier", a range-extended electric 6x6 eVTOL carrier van.[80]
Products
- XPeng Voyager X2, eVTOL multicopter[81]
Sales
Controversy
Allegations of intellectual property theft
In July 2018, the United States Department of Justice charged an ex-Apple employee for stealing the trade secrets of Apple's autonomous car project in an attempt to get a job at XPeng.[86][87] In August 2022, the former Apple engineer, Xiaolang Zhang, pleaded guilty to trade secret theft in federal court.[88]
In March 2019, Tesla sued Cao Guangzhi, a former Tesla employee, accusing him of stealing its Autopilot source code and bringing them to XPeng. Cao rejected the accusation of IP theft, but later said he had uploaded Tesla's source code to his iCloud prior to leaving Tesla. In response to Tesla's accusations, XPeng launched an internal investigation.[89]
See also
External links
References
- Hua Nan. This EV maker caters to young consumers by making driving easier and more fun CompassList, 24 December 2018, retrieved 11 May 2019^
- XPeng Inc. Full Year 2024 Form 20-F Report XPeng Inc., 2025-04-16, retrieved 2025-06-04^
- Liza Lin. Alibaba, Foxconn Invest in Chinese Electric-Vehicle Maker