The story
Founded by He Xiaopeng and Xia Heng on Aug 15, 2014.1
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.
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. The permit was revoked in February 2020 due to XPeng's failure to submit a disengagement report. 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. It launched the G3 in December 2018 at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Its second model, the P7, a four-door electric sedan, premiered in April 2019 at the 2019 Auto Shanghai show and started deliveries to customers in June 2020.
In May 2019, XPeng launched a vehicle for hire company with its own vehicles to serve Guangzhou.
In November 2019, XPeng raised US$400 million in a third fundraising round, which saw Xiaomi join as a strategic investor of XPeng. In July 2020, XPeng raised US$500 million from a group of investors including Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China. 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. In March 2021, the company received a US$76.9 million funding from Guangdong Yuecai Investment Holdings Co. 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.
In 2021, for the first time, XPeng started exporting its flagship P7 sedan. Its first international market was Norway, starting in August. In August 2021, the company's P5 subcompact sedan became able to read traffic lights. 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).
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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.
In April 2023, XPeng unveiled the XPeng G6 at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show.
On 21 June 2023, XPeng announced a partnership with ACCESS Europe in the field of in-car infotainment systems.
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.
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.
2025–2026 performance and global expansion
XPeng delivered 429,445 vehicles in 2025, an increase of 126% over the previous year, including 45,008 vehicles in overseas markets, a 96% year-over-year increase. By the end of 2025, the company said its global footprint had expanded to 60 countries and regions. In the fourth quarter of 2025, XPeng recorded a positive quarterly net profit for the first time, reporting RMB0.38 billion in net profit, while full-year revenue reached RMB76.72 billion and full-year gross margin reached 18.9%.
In the first quarter of 2026, XPeng delivered 62,682 vehicles and reported total revenue of RMB13.03 billion, gross margin of 20.6%, vehicle margin of 12.1% and a net loss of RMB1.78 billion. As of 31 March 2026, its physical sales network had 733 stores covering 256 cities and its self-operated charging network had 3,455 stations, including 2,398 ultra-fast charging stations. In April and May 2026, the company reported monthly deliveries of 31,011 and 32,158 vehicles, respectively.
XPeng also continued its European expansion. In September 2024, it announced a partnership with the Salvador Caetano Group to launch operations in Spain and Portugal with the G6, G9 and P7 as the initial model line-up. In February 2025, the company announced its official entry into the United Kingdom through International Motors Ltd, with the right-hand-drive G6 offered from £39,990 and deliveries planned from March 2025.
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.
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.
In April 2024, XPeng and Volkswagen Group signed an electronic and electrical architecture ("E/E Architecture") technology strategic cooperation framework agreement. XPeng and Volkswagen Group will jointly develop a new architecture based on XPeng's latest electronic and electrical architecture, which will be applied to the CMP platform developed by Volkswagen for the Chinese market, and mass production will begin in 2026.
In July 2024, XPeng and Volkswagen announced project houses in Guangzhou and Hefei to accelerate the development of the new E/E architecture; Reuters reported that the architecture was planned to equip Volkswagen-branded electric vehicles in China from 2026.
In January 2025, Xpeng reached strategic cooperation agreements with Volkswagen China and BP Pulse, and both parties will open their own charging networks in mainland China to each other; Xpeng also plans to build a joint-branded ultra-fast charging station with Volkswagen.
In August 2025, XPeng released its first-half financial report, revealing that the company generated 1.72 billion RMB profit in technology licensing fees from Volkswagen.
In August 2025, XPeng and Volkswagen Group signed an Agreement on Expanding E/E Architecture Technical Collaboration ("Expanded Technical Collaboration"). The signing of this agreement marks that the E/E Architecture will be not only integrated into Volkswagen's electric vehicle platforms, but also deployed across its ICE and PHEV platforms in China, thereby significantly expanding the strategic technical collaboration to broader markets.
In November 2025, Xpeng announced a new driver-assist system designed for navigating narrow roads, which they say will be rolled out by the first quarter of 2026. The system is claimed to be able to navigate cars smoothly through the narrow streets and will be opened to other car makers, with Volkswagen being its first client.
From Wikipedia’s article on XPeng, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7