Green car startup trades on New York Stock Exchange

Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng Motors' shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The Guangzhou-based company raised US$1.5 billion by offering 99.73 million American depositary shares priced at US$15. 

The shares are expected to begin trading under the symbol “XPEV,” and the offering is expected to close on Monday, subject to customary closing conditions.

Xpeng's listing is a further indication that Chinese new-energy vehicle startups have a promising future and that industry has great potential for further growth.

Herry Han, founding partner of Lightspeed China Partners that funded in the round of A+ financing of XPeng, said the listing is an important milestone for Xpeng and the company is optimistic about its future development.

Han said "the Chinese auto industry is undergoing transformation on smart electric vehicle and the sector has great potential for further growth."

The startup, established in 2015, designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles that appeal to the large and growing base of tech-savvy middle-class consumers in China.

Xpeng has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, as well as Silicon Valley and San Diego in the US. Its smart electric vehicles are manufactured at plants in Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province and Zhengzhou in Henan Province.

China began issuing permits allowing non-traditional automakers to manufacture electric cars in 2015, as part of a national policy to encourage non-polluting cars and help reduce smog in major cities.

Xpeng, one of those automakers, currently has two production models. Its P7 sports sedan was released in April and delivered to buyers in July. The other is its first electric sport-utility vehicle model, the G3.

Based on figures from the first six months of 2020, NIO remains the market leader, delivering a total of 14,048 vehicles. Li Auto ranked second and WM Motor ranked third, according to auto insurance data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Xpeng Motors ranked the fourth on the list and delivered 5,663 units from January to June.