Chinese Electric Carmaker Xpeng Raises $400 Million Ahead Of IPO

• Xpeng is a promising Tesla rival.

• It has filed for a listing on Wall Street.

• Deliveries of its P7 began last month. It is considered a Tesla Model 3 competitor.

Xpeng is thriving ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. as it has raised $400 million, up from the planned $300 million, in funding and investments.

We’ve recently reported on many EV start-ups gaining mountains of attention, and cash, from investors as they are all looking for the next Tesla. This time, China’s Xpeng has been “gifted” the finds from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, according to cnbc.com.

This brings the total investment in Xpeng to $1.3 billion as last month, they’d secured funding from investors such as Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China following the roll-out of their P7 electric sedan. Late in 2019, they received $400 million from other investors.

They’re now ready for their IPO and have filed for a listing on Wall Street without selecting which exchange to list on yet. Although this is all good tidings for Xpeng, rising tensions between the U.S. and China could put a stop to the listing.

The Xpeng P7 is considered a direct Tesla Model 3 competitor. Its pricing is similar however it’s not as quick or powerful. These shortcomings are forgiven as its range, for the top-line models, is of just over 700 km compared to the Model 3‘s 518 km (435 vs. 322 miles). Range calculation methods differ so this gap may not represent reality. It also happens to be very attractive and feature Nvidia’s Drive AGX Xavier system with 14 cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors.

Xpeng already sells a G3 SUV, which has been available since 2018. It made its debut at the 2018 edition of the CES in Las Vegas.