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Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc.’s CEO He Xiaopeng said he bought shares in rival startup Nio Limited during the latter’s toughest time in 2019, cnEVpost reported Monday.

What Happened:The report quoted Xiaopeng as saying in an interview with CCTV that he purchased Nio stock in 2019 despite the opposition of his friends. The CEO also said he invested a total of $300 million in Xpeng at that time. cnEV post is a China-focused EV website.

Xiaopeng reportedly said he backed Nio because the failure of companies like Xpeng and Nio would create a big problem for the group of electric car companies in China.

Shares of Nio had fallen to as low as $1.19 in 2019, the worst year for the company, but rebounded in 2020 and rose to as high as about $67. Xiaopeng and others who invested in Nio in 2019 also gained massively from the company’s stock surge.

Nio unveiled its first-ever sedan, named ET7, at the Nio Day event held in January this year. The company is taking aim at high-end competitors with the technology, performance and user experience features it announced.

Why It Matters:Homebred Chinese companies such as Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto Inc. as well as U.S.-based Tesla Inc. are vying for a piece of the lucrative Chinese EV market,which is the world’s largest.

Tesla Inc’s Model 3 and Model Y were among the top vehicles by sales in China in February, according to data released by China Passenger Car Association.

Chinese companies, including Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng, are now working on developing new electric vehicle technologies, including ultra-fast charging, next-generation computing platforms and autonomous driving technologies.

Nio has also introduced innovative schemes such as Battery-as-a-Service and Autonomous Driving-as-a-Service that reduce costs for customers.

Price Action:Xpeng shares closed 0.6% higher on Monday at $35.37, but declined almost 0.3% in the after-hours session. Nio shares closed 1.3% lower at $44.93 and further declined almost 0.8% in the after-hours session.