Xpeng Motors, as one of Tesla’s leading competitors in China, has been in the news a lot lately.
Amidst the prospect of a lawsuit with Tesla, Xpeng is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
According to a person familiar with the preparations who spoke with the South China Morning Post, Xpeng is hoping to raise as much as $500 million USD with the offering.
The plans are reportedly still in the early stages, but if the offering does happen and they are able to raise $500 million USD, that would be more than the automaker was able to raise in new financing in all of 2019 ($400 million USD).
Xpeng recently released their Tesla Model S competitor in China, the P7 sedan. The EV has a maximum driving range of 706km (438 miles), based on the NEDC cycle. For comparison, the NEDC cycle rates the Tesla Model 3 at 668 km (414 miles), some 5% less than the P7.
While the P7 won’t be sold in North America, it could soon show up for testing after Xpeng recently won approval to test drive the electric sedan on US soil.
The automaker is also facing a lawsuit from Tesla, who alleges a former Tesla employee stole the source code for Tesla’s Autopilot system before jumping ship to Xpeng.
If that wasn’t enough, Xpeng is also facing criticism for seemingly copying Tesla’s website design for the P7 product page.
