China-based EV company XPeng signed a strategic cooperation agreement with leading domestic banks at a signing ceremony held in Guangzhou, China, pursuant to which it will secure a credit line of RMB12.8 billion (US$1.98 billion) with an extensive range of credit facilities.

Under the terms of the agreement, five domestic commercial banks including the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China CITIC Bank and Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, will provide credit facilities to support the company’s business operations and expansion of its manufacturing, sales and service capabilities. These facilities will help Xpeng optimize the efficiency of its cash management, cost control and other corporate functions.

The strategic cooperation with leading banks further diversifies Xpeng’s funding channels. The company is developing rapidly following its successful $900-million pre-IPO fundraising and $1.7-billion IPO in August 2020.

In December 2020, the Company completed its first public follow-on offering, raising approximately $2.5 billion.

In November 2020, the Company’s second manufacturing base broke ground in Guangzhou, making it the first Chinese start-up EV maker with two self-owned factories.

XPeng’s physical sales & service network has expanded into 58 cities with 116 retail sales stores and 50 service centers, as of 30 September 2020. The number of XPeng-branded supercharging stations has expanded to 135, covering 50 cities, as of September 30, 2020.

Free supercharging services are provided to XPeng customers at 670 supercharging stations across 100 Chinese cities, since the free-to-use supercharging program was launched in September 2020.

Xpeng delivered a total of 27,041 vehicles in 2020 with a fast-growing customer base that has reached more than 40,000.

The company’s third production model—a new Smart EV sedan slated for official launch and customer delivery in 2021—will be equipped with lidar technology, representing a breakthrough in the mass production deployment of the autonomous driving technology.

In December 2020, the company delivered the first batch of 100 G3 smart SUVs to customers in Norway, representing a milestone for its international business.