China's Bid To Lead EV Market Moves Up Notch With New Silicon Valley Base For Alibaba-backed Xpeng

China's bid to take the lead in the electric vehicle market moved up a notch with the recent office opening of Xpeng Motors in Silicon Valley. Xpeng is one of several Chinese electric vehicle producers that is vying for this expanding market, along with several potential Tesla killers, among them startup unicorn NIO. China already accounts for about half of global EV sales, boosted by the Chinese government's handouts such as a $15,000 subsidy, a free driver's license and access to many charging stations. Xpeng has a head start among dozens of Chinese EV startups given its connection to Alibaba. Co-founder He Xiaopeng, one of China's Internet tycoons, sold his browser startup to Alibaba in 2014 for $5 billion, and Alibaba backed Xpeng at $350 million with Foxconn and IDG Capital in January 2018 -- along with a who's who of venture investing including Matrix Partners, Morningside Venture Capital and GGV Capital.