On May 21st, Xiaopeng Motors announced its financial data for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. The total delivery volume of Xiaopeng Motors in the first quarter was 21821 vehicles, an increase of 19.7% from 18230 vehicles in the same period of 2023; The total revenue was RMB 6.55 billion, an increase of 62.3% compared to the same period in 2023; The gross profit margin has significantly increased to 12.9%, with a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percentage points and a month on month increase of 6.7 percentage points; As of March 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, and term deposits amounted to RMB 41.4 billion.
In the context of intensified competition in the new energy vehicle market, competition among new forces is becoming more intense. Xiaopeng Motors still needs to improve its delivery volume, revenue, gross profit margin, and other performance in the first quarter in order to cope with greater challenges in the future. Xiaopeng Motors has proposed several directions for future development in this regard.
Firstly, technology going global and intelligent monetization. Xiaopeng Motors Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng specifically mentioned "small and large cooperation". He stated that the cooperation with Volkswagen Group has shown initial results and continues to deepen, successfully developing a unique new business model for platform and technology cooperation. Xiaopeng Motors has taken the lead in empowering the output of self-developed intelligent technology, which will gain greater market influence and better financial returns.
"In the extremely competitive market, the company's gross profit margin significantly increased to 12.9% in the first quarter." Gu Hongdi, Honorary Vice Chairman and Co President of Xiaopeng Motors, said, "This marks Xiaopeng Motors' unique model of improving profitability and internationalization potential through intelligent technology output on the basis of its smart electric vehicle business."
On April 17th, Xiaopeng Motors and Volkswagen Group will jointly develop an electronic and electrical architecture for Volkswagen's electric vehicle platform in the Chinese market. According to the agreement, the platform will integrate Xiaopeng Automobile's latest generation of electronic and electrical architecture based on central computing and domain controllers. The jointly developed electronic and electrical architecture is expected to be applied to Volkswagen brand electric vehicles produced in China starting from 2026.
He Xiaopeng said, "Since the first quarter of this year, the revenue from platform and software technology services has become an important source of our profits. This marks that Xiaopeng Motors has developed an innovative business model different from traditional car companies. Intelligent technology will not only be monetized through the sales of Xiaopeng Motors brand, but also through cooperation with global leading brands, we can gain greater market influence and better financial returns."
While "going global with technology," Xiaopeng also looks overseas to seek new opportunities. In the first half of 2024, Xiaopeng Automobile's internationalization 2.0 strategy accelerated again, announcing its entry into markets such as Germany, France, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, etc. This year, it will expand its overseas sales network to more than 20 countries. He Xiaopeng stated on the financial report conference call that in overseas markets, the pace of expansion will accelerate this year, and exports will become an important driving force for sales and profit growth.
In the first half of the year, Xiaopeng Motors has established cooperative relationships with several leading dealer groups in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and other regions, and has gradually opened new sales stores. In early April, nearly a thousand G9 units were shipped to Europe, with a total export value exceeding 500 million yuan. In May, the left-hand drive version of the G6 began to release prices and accept bookings in the European market. Xiaopeng Motors is expected to launch the right-hand drive version of the G6 in the third quarter.
In terms of intelligent driving, in May, Xiaopeng Automobile officially launched the AI Dimensity system in full, and released the first "end-to-end" large model for mass production in China, as well as the world's first AI proxy driving function. He Xiaopeng stated that in the third quarter of this year, XNGP will not only be able to operate in cities across the country, but also aim to operate on every road. In response to market challenges, Xiaopeng's new brand MONA's first A-class pure electric sedan will be unveiled in June this year, and will be officially launched and delivered in the third quarter. Multiple products will also be launched on the A-class car platform, entering the largest 200000 yuan market.
For the second quarter of 2024, Xiaopeng Motors expects a total delivery volume of 29000 to 32000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 25.0% to 37.9%, and a total revenue of RMB 7.5 billion to RMB 8.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 48.1% to 63.9%.
Southern+Reporter Gong Qianshu