Alibaba, which co-led the electric vehicle developer's last round in January, could invest in a $600m to $700m round at a near $4bn valuation.

China-based smart electric vehicle (EV) developer Xiaopeng Motors has begun discussions with e-commerce firm Alibaba concerning a funding round sized at $600m to $700m, Technode reported today.

The round would value the company at almost $4bn and form part of a funding plan through which it plans to raise between $1.6bn and $2.7bn in funding in 2018, according to differing media reports in April this year.

Also known as Xpeng, Xiaopeng is working on a plug-in sports utility vehicle that…