$XPeng (XPEV.US)$ Xpeng confirmed it is moving ahead with an...

Xpeng confirmed it is moving ahead with an internal anti-corruption drive, after rumours overnight that the company had purged its procurement team caused its shares to plunge 10.3% in the US on concerns about the stability of the company's supply chain .

Xpeng's head of procurement, Li Feng, has been suspended in the company's internal anti-corruption investigative actions, and a number of employees are cooperating with the investigation, local media outlet Wallstreetcn reported on Oct 10.

These actions are normal anti-corruption behavior and Xpeng does not condone such behavior, the report cited the company's response as saying.

The issue is small in scope and does not affect businesses including commerce and production, Xpeng emphasized.

Xpeng has been strengthening its supply chain management this year, with some of its employees being investigated, according to the report.

Li, who was previously the company's vice president in charge of the procurement department, is the first core executive to be suspended in the investigation at Xpeng, the report noted.

Late last night, several automotive bloggers said on Weibo that Xpeng was rumoured to have purged its purchasing department, and that a bigger shakeup could follow.

In 2021, Li had been recognized internally by Xpeng for his significant contributions in coordinating supply chain resources and finding alternatives when China's EV supply chain was hit by negative factors, including chip shortages and Covid control, Caixin noted in another report (behind paywall) today.

Xpeng restructured its supply chain department at the end of 2022, merging the former supply chain services, marketing services procurement and parts procurement departments into the procurement department, with the new department headed by Li, Caixin said.

At an internal meeting held on October 9, Xpeng announced the suspension of Li, and a number of other named employees were asked to cooperate with the investigation, according to Caixin.