NEW YORK -- XPeng Inc, a leading smart electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in China, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday, trading under the ticker symbol of "XPEV."

XPeng priced its initial public offering of 99.7 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $15 per ADS, above the range of 11 dollars to 13 dollars given by the company, for a total offering size of approximately 1.5 billion dollars.

Each ADS represents two Class A ordinary shares of the company.

Credit Suisse Securities, JP Morgan Securities, and BofA Securities are acting as joint bookrunners for the offering.

XPeng's CEO He Xiaopeng told Xinhua that the listing was a milestone for the company as it offered an opportunity for his team to better communicate with investors, which would be conducive for the company's long-term development.

"We will continue to improve our development and research, enhance innovation and expand sales channels," said the chief executive.

Founded in 2015, the Guangzhou-headquartered company aims to bring smart EVs to consumers through innovation in autonomous driving, smart connectivity and core vehicle systems.

Approximately 50 percent of the net proceeds of this offering will be used for research and development of smart EVs and technologies, while 30 percent of the net proceeds of this offering will be used for marketing and expansion of sales channels, the company said in its prospectus.

He said he is confident about a promising future in China's smart EV, buoyed by the nation's huge EV market and growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers.

China's EV market represented 45.1 percent of the global EV sales volume and is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 29.4 percent from 2019 to 2025, reaching 4.2 million units in 2025, according to IHS Markit Report.

XPeng stock closed at $21.22 apiece on Thursday, up 41.47 percent from its pricing.

As of Wednesday, the S&P US Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on US exchanges by total market cap, stood at 4,492.10, marking a 6.68-percent increase for the month-to-date returns and a 41.83-percent gain for the year-to-date returns.