(Yicai) July 4 -- Shares of Xpeng Motors surged after the Chinese electric vehicle startup unveiled the first model under its Mona mid-end marque.

Xpeng [HKG: 9868] ended 4.2 percent higher at HKD31.35 (USD4.02) a share in Hong Kong today, after earlier gaining by as much as 8.6 percent. Its New York-listed stock [NYSE: XPEV] popped 9 percent to USD8.32 yesterday.

The Mona M03 sedan, which was unveiled by Xpeng Chairman He Xiaopeng at a global event yesterday, is expected to hit the Chinese market next month. It will be priced below CNY200,000 (USD27,500), according to He.

Last August, Xpeng announced that it would buy the assets and research and development capabilities of Da Vinci, Didi Chuxing’s smart EV project, for HKD5.8 billion (USD750 million). The project was focused on building EVs priced at about CNY150,000.

Xpeng and Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi have invested a total of CNY4 billion (USD550 million) in Mona. Products under the new marque will be very different from Xpeng’s existing lineup, with their annual sales target set at 100,000 units in China.

Mona is expected to achieve better sales than Xiaomi Auto in the second half of the year, He said at the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year. The M03 boasts the most intelligent driving solution within its price range and has superior energy consumption that allows the vehicle to achieve good range with a smaller capacity battery, he noted.

Xpeng delivered 10,668 cars in June, up 24 percent from a year earlier and a 5 percent increase on May. In the first half of the year, its deliveries totaled 52,028. Xpeng’s figures are much lower than similar mid-to-high-end Chinese EV startups such as Li Auto and Nio. So the Mona brand that targets the mainstream market is expected to significantly drive sales.

Li Auto delivered 47,774 cars in June and 188,981 in the first half. Nio delivered 21,209 vehicles last month and 87,426 in the six months ended June 30.

Editor: Futura Costaglione