DiDi Global To Sell Certain Business Assets Related To Smart EV Development Project To XPeng

(RTTNews) - DiDi Global Inc. (DIDIY) said it will sell certain business assets related to its smart electric vehicle development project to XPeng Inc. (XPEV), with which XPeng aims to launch an A-class Smart EV model in 2024, currently being developed under the project name "MONA".

The new model and brand will be differentiated from XPENG-branded products and its main brand.

In a separate press release, Xpeng confirmed that the company and DiDi have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of Smart EV and technologies in the mass market segment.

Xpeng said it will issue Class A ordinary shares of the company, representing approximately 3.25% of its outstanding share capital upon completion of the issuance, to acquire assets related to DiDi's Smart EV project. DiDi will thereby become a strategic shareholder of the company, with a lock-up period of 24 months after the initial closing.

In addition, the agreement between the company and DiDi also establishes performance-based incentive mechanisms based on the mass production of "MONA" and sales volume targets to be fulfilled by Didi, subject to which DiDi will be entitled to receive share-based incentives.

As per the agreement, Xpeng will become the first automotive manufacturing company with comprehensive support from the ecosystem of DiDi. The companies will explore strategic cooperation in a number of areas, including marketing, financial and insurance services, charging, Robotaxi and international market expansion.