(Yicai) April 10 -- China's Xpeng will work with partners to start selling electric vehicles in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as early as next month to accelerate its expansion.

Xpeng will team up with Sime Darby Motors, an automotive group active in the Asia-Pacific region, to bring EVs to showrooms in Hong Kong and offer after-sales services, the Guangzhou-based firm announced today. Entering the market is strategically important as a model for market expansion and a testament to the firm's focus on scaling up, it added.

The first models that Hong Kong is expected to see in mid-May are the sport-utility vehicle G6 and Xpeng's first multi-purpose vehicle, the seven-seater X9. Deliveries are predicted to begin in the third quarter.

The rival of Nio and Li Auto is set to enter Macao with partner Xin Kang Heng Holdings, offering two models in addition to the Hong Kong ones, namely SUV G9 and sedan P7i. Deliveries in the region that also drives on the left will start in May.

Founded in 2014, Xpeng delivered more than 140,000 vehicles last year. Early that year, it said that it would establish a presence in several European, Middle Eastern, and African markets as part of its Go Abroad 2.0 strategy.

Editor: Emmi Laine