Xpeng has signed strategic partnership agreements with two mobility services companies and completed the first deliveries of Xpeng P7 vehicles under the cooperation.
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Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has entered into agreements with two Chinese mobility companies to supply them with vehicles, the latest following a similar agreement last July.
Xpeng signed a strategic partnership with car rental company China Auto Rental and Geely-owned mobility service platform Xiaolinggou Travel Technology on January 9 and completed deliveries of the first Xpeng P7 vehicles in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, according to a news release.
Under the partnership, Xiaolinggou will be responsible for the purchase of Xpeng P7 vehicles, while China Auto Rental will be responsible for operations.
The first Xpeng P7s for the partnership are already in operation in five cities -- Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Changsha and Nanjing -- and Guangzhou will also see the service available before the Chinese New Year holiday.
The Xpeng P7 has become a star vehicle in China's electric vehicle (EV) market and will provide users with a new green and smart mobility experience, said Wang Tong, vice president of the EV maker.
Xpeng looks forward to increasing the scale of cooperation with Xiaolinggou and China Auto Rental and exploring more cooperation models in EV experience, test driving, after-sales service and charging, Wang said.
Xiaolinggou, an asset operation platform serving rental companies, chose to buy Xpeng's smart cars in large quantities because the company believes such vehicles are not only the future of travel, but also transformative for upgrading user experience, said Jiang Zhichun, the company's president.
This is the second time in the past year that Xpeng has entered into partnerships with mobility service providers.
On July 19, 2022, Xpeng entered into a strategic partnership with local car rental company eHi Car Services and delivered the first few hundred vehicles to the latter.
These vehicles first went into operation in seven cities -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Haikou and Sanya -- in the summer of 2022.
It's worth noting that these moves by Xpeng are interesting because vehicles being used in the mobility services market usually diminishes brand image.
However, the company's move helps allow the Xpeng P7 to expand its market share and may accelerate the arrival of a facelift for the sedan.
Xpeng delivered 11,292 vehicles in December, a record high since July 2022, figures released January 1 showed.
Xpeng's flagship SUV, the G9, delivered 4,020 units in December, the first time it surpassed 4,000 units, according to the company, which did not release figures for the P7.
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