(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- Guangzhou Chengxing Zhidong Automobile Technology Co., also known as Xiaopeng Motors, has unveiled its first production model new electric vehicle, the G3, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first mass-produced internet-enabled electric car released by a Chinese car manufacturer at the CES.

Alibaba-backed Xiaopeng Motors is preparing to challenge other NEV giants such as Tesla and General Motors, says its chairman He Xiaopeng. The company's financing runs smoothly and it expects to complete a new round of financing by the end of this month, he told Yicai Global. His planned investments in the internet-enabled electric cars will reach USD155 million, he says, expressing his confidence in the industry.

New forces have emerged to make internet-enabled vehicles since 2014. Several pioneers, including Xiaopeng Motors, will deliver a small number of vehicles this year and will face basic thresholds tests such as quality, differentiation and organizational system. However, this is only the beginning. The real difficulty is expected in 2020, a big challenge, he says, when many industry players eye to unveil their new models. Xiaopeng Motors is now concentrating on financing, management and team building, R&D and manufacturing, branding and other areas to prepare itself for the real test to be posed by the market in 2020, He added.

Founded in 2014, Xiaopeng Motors started its research and development on internet cars focusing on development of electric engine, batteries, electric control and central control screens and entered the modeling and vehicle development stage in early 2015.

In September 2016, it released a beta prototype. The first trial vehicle was off the assembly line last February, with over 100 trial vehicles manufactured passing the rigorous tests. Through cooperation with the traditional carmaker Haima Automobile Group Co., Xiaopeng Motors rolled out the first product successfully under production qualification of Haima Automobile last October, and became the first internet car company that achieved mass-production.