Model S

Make
Tesla
Segment
Sedan

Earlier this month it was reported that Chinese EV automaker Xpeng Motors had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. The company intends to sell 429,846,136 Class B ordinary shares but, at the time, did not disclose the number of Class A shares will be made available to investors. Today we have our answer.

Reuters reports that Xpeng now plans to sell 85 million American depositary shares, each representing two Class A ordinary shares, and will be priced between $11 and $13 per share. It aims to raise $1.11 billion in its IPO and the market appears to be excited for this to happen. Already Xpeng high-end valuation stood at $9.17 billion. All the more impressive is that this IPO is coming at a time when US-China trade relations are not exactly at their best.

US-listed Chinese companies are facing greater scrutiny from US regulators than ever. Xpeng, however, appears to be in good shape. In fact, another US-listed Chinese EV automaker, Li Auto, raised $1.09 billion in its IPO on NASDAQ a few weeks ago. Share prices for Tesla also continue to surge. In fact, Tesla's stock has skyrocketed 50 percent since announcing a stock split earlier this month, a move done to help make its stock more affordable for averages investors. The split goes into effect on August 31. Currently, Tesla's market value is around - wait for it - $390 billion. That value isn't expected to change once the split happens.

What does this all mean? It's quite simple, really: the market has huge confidence in both established and some up and coming EV automakers.

EV demand, at least in the US, remains relatively low compared to combustion-powered vehicles, but this is not expected to last forever. Mainstream automakers are also begging big on future EVs, several of which are expected to go on sale within the next two years. As for Xpeng, we still don't have a timetable regarding a possible US market launch, but its upcoming IPO will further cement its status as a future player.

Xpeng is also clearly an admirer of Tesla because it nearly copied the California company's website design. Tesla doesn't seem to mind, but it is accusing one of its former engineers who now works for Xpeng of downloading its Autopilot source code and then selling it to his new employer. Xpeng currently builds its P7 sedan, a Tesla Model S lookalike, in China.