Chinese EV startup Xpeng shares soar after announcing $744 million deal with Didi

BEIJING — Chinese electrical car institution Xpeng said Monday it is buying Didi's astute electrical car improvement concern successful an speech of shares worthy $744 million.

The Chinese ride-hailing institution volition go a strategical shareholder of Xpeng, and the 2 companies are looking to cooperate successful marketing, fiscal and security services, charging, robotaxis and planetary expansion. That's according to releases from some companies.

Xpeng shares rose much than 13% successful Hong Kong trading arsenic of Monday morning.

With the strategical concern and caller assets from Didi, Xpeng said it plans to make an electrical car for motorboat adjacent twelvemonth nether a caller wide marketplace marque that volition people the 150,000 yuan ($20,580) terms range.

Xpeng's cars typically sell for astir 200,000 yuan oregon more. The caller brand, developed nether the task sanction "MONA," is acceptable to beryllium antithetic from that of Xpeng.

The startup's woody with Didi comes arsenic galore companies look for ways to drawback a portion of China's increasing but highly competitory electrical car market.

In precocious July, Xpeng and German car elephantine Volkswagen signed a deal to make 2 caller electrical cars for China nether the VW brand, that's acceptable to motorboat successful 2026.

Under the agreement, Volkswagen plans to put astir $700 cardinal successful Xpeng for a 4.99% stake.

The deals travel arsenic accepted car giants have the cash that electrical car startups lack.

Earlier this month, Xpeng reported second-quarter nett nonaccomplishment 2.8 cardinal yuan ($384.5 million) — a wider nonaccomplishment than analysts expected and the biggest quarterly nonaccomplishment since the institution went public 3 years ago.

Xpeng offers immoderate of the astir precocious assisted driving exertion disposable to drivers successful China. But the startup's monthly car deliveries person remained debased versus competitors' specified arsenic BYD and Li Auto.

The Didi electrical car concern — held by a subsidiary called Da Vinci Auto Co. — has besides racked up losses. Those for 2022 much than tripled from the anterior twelvemonth to 2.64 cardinal yuan, according to a Hong Kong banal speech filing. The portion had nett assets of 937 cardinal yuan arsenic of June 30.

Those fiscal results are acceptable to beryllium consolidated into Xpeng's fiscal statements aft the archetypal deal, the filing said.

The woody is expected to beryllium completed successful stages, with Didi acceptable to person much shares if the caller wide marketplace car marque does good for an expected full 3.25% involvement successful Xpeng.

Under the agreement, Didi cannot merchantability the shares for 2 years aft the archetypal closing of the deal.

The strategical practice statement is acceptable to past for astatine slightest 5 years.

Didi itself has tried to make robotaxis and electrical vehicles, amid concern setbacks successful the past 2 years.

The ride-hailing elephantine delisted from the New York Stock Exchange conscionable months aft going nationalist successful 2021, and went done a now-concluded authorities probe. While the banal remains tradeable over-the-counter, plans for an expected Hong Kong listing stay unclear.

— CNBC's John Rosevear and Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.