Alibaba-backed Xpeng gets go-ahead to assemble its own electric cars, heating up Tesla challenge
- Guangzhou-based Xpeng’s newly opened electric car factory runs more than 260 industrial robots
- The roll-out and delivery of Xpeng’s new P7 sports car is expected to start at the end of June
Xpeng Motors has received government permission to independently assemble its electric vehicles, months after it acquired a local car maker, as the start-up moves into a higher gear to challenge Tesla in China.
The factory, which runs more than 260 industrial robots, is located in Zhaoqing, a city that is about 110 kilometres northwest of Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province and home base of Xpeng.
The six-year-old Xpeng, which also has offices in Mountain View, California, expects to roll out and deliver the first batch of P7 cars from its smart manufacturing facility by the end of June, the company said.
Xpeng’s first production model, the G3 electric sport utility vehicle released in 2018, was previously assembled by contract manufacturer Haima Automobile Co, a subsidiary of state-owned car maker FAW Group Corp.
