Xpeng — or XPEV — was founded in 2014 in Guangzhou by serial entrepreneur He Xiaopeng, who previously built the mobile browser UCWeb. The company positioned itself as China's answer to Tesla, with a particular focus on autonomous driving technology developed in-house. Xpeng's G3 SUV and P7 sedan built a loyal following among tech-savvy Chinese consumers. The brand has expanded to Europe and the Middle East as part of a broader global push to establish Chinese EV brands internationally.