Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) has invested in an electric car start-up as the transportation sector emerges as the latest battleground for China's technology giants.
The Hangzhou-based technology company confirmed on Friday that it had invested in Chinese electric car start-up Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, although it did not disclose the amount of that investment.
Local newspaper China Daily reported that Alibaba would have an approximately 10% stake in Xiaopeng Motors following its investment.
The company's recent moves in the automobile space come after other major players comprising China's BAT companies — an acronym used to refer to Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent collectively — have made investments of their own in the electric vehicle space.
Tencent acquired a 5% stake in Tesla for $1.78 billion U.S. earlier this year. Both Tencent and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) have also invested in Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio, while Baidu has backed WM Motor Technology, another electric vehicle start-up on the mainland.
Xiaopeng Motors cooperated with Haima Automobile, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker FAW Group, to begin producing its first model this year, although a finalized version of the electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) is expected to hit the market only in 2018
Alibaba's move into the automobiles comes as the company attempts to diversify as part of its "new retail" policy, which involves merging both the online and offline. The company announced earlier this month that it would work with Ford Motor (NYSE: F) to explore ways the companies could upgrade customer experiences in the automobile industry.
Shares in Alibaba opened Friday down 76 cents to $170.99
