Earlier today, a rumor that Xpeng would acquire Maserati spread widely on Chinese social media.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Rumors of partnerships between Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startups and foreign carmakers have been popping up frequently this year. The latest rumor claimed that Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) will buy the ultra-luxury car maker Maserati, but that has been denied.

The rumor that Xpeng is buying Maserati is false, and the company has no relevant acquisitions in the pipeline, the Shanghai Securities News said in a report today, citing a response from the Chinese EV maker.

The report didn't provide any further details about the rumor. Maserati is an Italian luxury automaker founded in December 1914 and headquartered in Modena.

Earlier today, a screenshot shared by many Weibo bloggers showed a message from an internet user in a forum stating that Xpeng's acquisition of Maserati is basically confirmed and that an internal meeting of the EV maker clarified the launch of a new brand.

It's worth noting that Xpeng just entered into a partnership with German carmaker Volkswagen at the end of last month.

Volkswagen signed an agreement to invest about $700 million in Xpeng, acquiring about a 4.99 percent stake in the Chinese EV maker, according to July 26 press releases from the two.

In the initial phase of the partnership, the two companies plan to co-develop two Volkswagen-branded EV models based on Xpeng's G9 platform for China's mid-size vehicle market.

The two new vehicles will complement Volkswagen's portfolio of MEB-based platforms and are scheduled to hit the market in 2026.

Rumors of a partnership between Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Mercedes-Benz have been widely revisited over the past month following the announcement of Xpeng's deal with Volkswagen.

On August 4, a video circulated in several WeChat groups and on Weibo showed Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li accompanying several foreigners on a tour of a battery swap station.

At the time, some speculated that the foreigners might be from Mercedes-Benz, reigniting discussions about a potential partnership between Nio and Mercedes-Benz.

However, a Nio spokesperson, when asked about the rumors of a partnership between the company and Mercedes-Benz, told CnEVPost that it was false information.

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