Xpeng and Didi go for base of Chinese EV market

Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng signed a strategic partnership with shared mobility provider Didi. The deal includes the development of a new small electric car brand (project name Mona) and an investment by Xpeng in Didi.

Xpeng wants to launch a new EV brand in 2024. It is currently being developed under the project name ‘Mona’ and should offer small electric cars starting at around 150 000 yuan (less than €20 000). The manufacturer hopes to sell at least 100 000 vehicles per year.

A-class

The first model in the Mona line-up will be an A-class smart EV and should be ready to hit the road next year. Didi has already been working on the EV, and Xpeng will build further on that development to bring the car to mass production.

According to Xpeng, the small EV will likely use many features of its SEPA 2.0 platform. As part of the deal, Xpeng will acquire the assets of Didi’s smart car development business for the equivalent of $744 million (± €690 million).

To that end, the Chinese carmaker will issue class A ordinary shares, representing about 3,25% of its issued share capital upon completion of the issuance, “to acquire assets related to Didi’s Smart EV project. Didi will thereby become a strategic shareholder of the Company, with a lock-up period of 24 months after the initial closing.”

Moreover, the agreement will establish performance incentives based on the mass production of ‘Mona’ and Didi’s achievement of sales targets, and Didi will be entitled to receive share-based incentives.

Mass market

“Xpeng’s A-class Smart EV products under the new brand will not only significantly increase our scale but also accelerate the adoption of our Smart EV technologies in the mass market segment, bringing our technologies to a much broader customer base,” says He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xpeng.

“Furthermore, both parties will explore cooperation opportunities in various areas. Xpeng will continue to create value and capture growth opportunities in the mobility ecosystem and in autonomous driving.”

Xpeng will be the first manufacturer “with comprehensive support from the ecosystem of Didi” and says that ‘Mona’ paves the way for accessible electric mobility. The carmaker emphasizes that the new model and brand will be distinct from the Xpeng branded products and the main brand. And according to CEO He Xiaopeng, it could be one of many more brands to come.

Didi is one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies with a dominance in China, which has around 70% of the market. According to the latest data, Didi had 45 million daily transactions on average.

The partnership (to be a win-win for both companies) is established as China’s EV market seems to be heating up, with low-cost competitors like BYD gaining market share in the lower end of the market.

Xpeng’s deal also comes a few days after rumors about a mass-market EV brand from Nio called ‘Alps’. This new brand is aimed to compete in a somewhat higher segment, the  €25 000 to €45 000 bracket, a segment where it will also compete with foreign offers, from VW or Toyota, for example.