Chinese Electric Carmaker XPeng Raises $2.16 billion in Upsized Share Sale

Chinese electric carmaker XPeng raised $2.16 billion in an upsized follow-on offering, the company announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The Guangzhou-based manufacturer sold 48 million American depositary shares (ADS) to the public at $45 per ADS, three times its initial public offering (IPO) price four months ago.

The pricing represented a 7.6% discount on its closing price of $48.69 on Tuesday. The company could boost what it raised to as much as $2.48 billion if it exercises an option to sell an additional 7.2 million shares.

The EV maker’s refinancing comes days after its rival Li Auto raised $1.36 billion in a follow-on offering. 

Xpeng’s follow-on offering is the second-biggest straight after an IPO by a US-listed Chinese firm, according to Bloomberg. The title of the largest first-time follow-on is held by online rental platform KE Holdings Inc, or Beike, after it sold $2.36 billion of stock just three months after its New York debut.

XPeng debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in August after netting $1.72 billion in its IPO. The company recently announced its financial results for the third quarter this year, showing a 265.8% year-on-year increase in deliveries and a 342.5% year-on-year growth in sales. As of November 30, its year-to-date deliveries reached 21,341 units.

The net proceeds from the proposed offering are set to be used in the research and development of XPeng’s smart vehicles, software, hardware and data technologies, as well as in the expansion of its sales and service channels and EV charging network. Last month, it launched a free charging service across 64 cities in China.

SEE ALSO: XPeng Reports Q3 2020 Unaudited Financial Results

The fast-growing startup also plans to use the proceeds to grow its global sales and marketing outside of China. Last month, XPeng delivered its first batch of vehicles to Norway. 

Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) makers are stepping up their manufacturing capacity as they compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla in China, the world’s largest automobile market. 

Last month, sales of NEVs surged 105% to 169,000, their fourth consecutive month of gain. NEVs include battery-powered electric, plug-in petrol-electric hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.