A Chinese car startup dubbed Xiaopeng Motors (also
known as Xpeng Motors) has the backing of Alibaba and plans to become the
People’s Republic’s answer to Tesla. Autonews reports that the automaker
intends on raising 17 billion yuan (US$ 2.7 billion) in funds this year. While the
company’s founder, He Xiaopeng, has failed to detail the fundraising plans,
both Alibaba and Foxconn have already invested 2.2 billion yuan (US$ 350 million)
in the company.
Xpeng intends on making the most of booming demand
for electric vehicles throughout China. The automaker has confirmed that it
will work with Alibaba in developing maps and cloud products for its vehicles.
Speaking during the Boao Forum in China, Xiaopeng
said the company will commence pre-sales of its G3 crossover by the end of
April. The covers were taken off the G3 at CES 2018 in
January.
The vehicle adopts a rather attractive exterior design and in the
cabin, incorporates 12.3-inch full HD panel and a 15.6-inch touchscreen
infotainment system. Additionally, the G3 includes two front-facing cameras,
two side cameras, four panoramic cameras, three millimeter-wave radars, 12
ultrasonic sensors and two intelligent cameras inside the cockpit.
The company hasn’t said what level of autonomy it is
working on but the G3 appears to have the hardware necessary for level 5
self-driving.
