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Xpeng (Xiaopeng) P7 front. Credit: Jengtingchen.

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng Motor has received approval from the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to test its autonomous cars on US roads.

XPeng Motor cofounder and CEO He Xiaopeng announced the news to Chinese social network Weibo.

The licence will allow non-US-produced autonomous vehicles to be tested on American roads, which means that the XPeng P7 electric sports sedan is now ready for complete closed-loop testing on the country’s public roads.

According to He Xiaopeng, such licenses are usually granted to non-US-produced vehicles for the purpose of scientific research.

The P7 electric sports sedan is Xpeng’s second model after the G3.

Earlier this month, the electric vehicle maker said that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) had rated the sports sedan as being able to travel 706km on a single charge.

The company claimed that the P7 has a longer range than any other EV available in China.

Founded in 2014, the company launched Xpeng G3 in January 2018.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, the company will work in close cooperation with its leading shareholders, Alibaba and Xiaomi, to capitalise on 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the equipment and software development for connected cars, as well as self-driving vehicles.

With a workforce of more than 4,000 people, the company designs and manufactures seamlessly integrated automobiles with advanced internet, AI and autonomous driving technologies.