China's EV marker XPeng jumped on its expanded parternship with Volkswagen

China's Xpeng Motors (9868) and Volkswagen have agreed to expand their partnership to cooperate on ultra-fast electric vehicle charging networks in China, the automakers said on Monday.

XPeng's shares rose as much as 5 percent in the morning in Hong Kong, before retreating to HK$46.15 at 1053 GMT+8, 3.24 percent higher than previous close.

The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to open their respective fast-charging networks to each other's customers, which comprise more than 20,000 charging piles across 420 cities in China, they said in a joint statement.

They will also explore the joint construction of co-branded ultra-fast charging stations.

Xpeng and Volkswagen forged a partnership in 2023, when Volkswagen bought 4.99 percent of Xpeng for around $700 million with plans to jointly launch two Volkswagen-branded EV models by 2026.

Volkswagen later said it had developed a new architecture for intelligent and electric cars with Xpeng which the German automaker said would help it offer more affordable EVs in its biggest market.

(Reuters and staff reporter)