Shenzhen Business Daily · Creative App Reporter Li Wei
Can we achieve the goal of selling 280000 vehicles annually? As of October 2024, the cumulative delivery volume of Xiaopeng Motors has reached 122478 units, a year-on-year increase of 21%, but it has not yet reached 50% of the annual sales target. What is the reason?
According to China Securities Journal, as of November 4th, several car companies have released sales (or delivery) data for October. How is the current annual sales target achieved by car companies? Data shows that as of the end of October, only three car companies had completion rates exceeding 80%, and traditional car brands performed better than new force brands overall. BYD leads with a completion rate of 90%, followed closely by Geely Automobile and Leapmotor, both with completion rates exceeding 80%. In contrast, the completion rates of Ideal Automobile, Changan Automobile, and NIO are slightly inferior, only about 70%, while Xiaopeng Motors is less than 50%.
Strive to achieve the annual goal
It is reported that the annual sales target of at least 280000 vehicles in 2024 was proposed by He Xiaopeng, the chairman of Xiaopeng Motors.
In order to achieve this goal, Xiaopeng Motors has made multiple improvements in marketing and service. At the 2024 mid-term performance conference, the management stated that the company has made improvements in product planning, production, supply and marketing, and marketing services, especially in sales store management and after-sales service, and enhanced sales training to improve the efficiency and ability of sales personnel. In addition, Xiaopeng Motors has also expanded into overseas markets. After entering the Australian and French markets in May, it entered the Egyptian market in June and released new Xiaopeng G9 and Xiaopeng P73. In September, Xiaopeng Motors launched its latest model MONA M03.
However, the annual sales progress of Xiaopeng Motors was not satisfactory.
In the first six months of this year, Xiaopeng Motors sold a total of 52028 vehicles, which is only 18.6% of the annual sales target and less than 20% of the annual target.
In the first seven months of this year, Xiaopeng Motors only achieved 22.56% of its annual sales target,
From January to August this year, Xiaopeng Motors delivered a total of 77209 new cars, a year-on-year increase of 17%. But the sales volume in the first 8 months only reached 27.76% of the annual sales target of 280000 vehicles.
Competitiveness still needs to be further strengthened
Industry insiders revealed that Xiaopeng Motors currently has many models under its umbrella, but there is no strong model to support it. Several models with relatively good sales performance are still far from being popular. Previously, everyone discussed NIO, Ideal, and Xiaopeng together, calling them "Wei Xiaoli". These were the traditional three new forces in car manufacturing. Now, among the new three forces in car manufacturing, Xiaopeng has been kicked out and become "Li Wenwei".
Some media have also pointed out that in the fiercely competitive new energy vehicle market, Xiaopeng Motors lacks products with strong market appeal, making it difficult for its market share to expand rapidly.
The sales growth did not meet expectations, making it difficult to form economies of scale to reduce costs. Xiaopeng Motors also faces the problem of difficult profitability. According to the disclosed interim performance announcement, Xiaopeng Motors' total revenue in the first half of the year was 14.66 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.2%; The net loss was 2.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 48.41%.
It is worth mentioning that according to the semi annual report, Xiaopeng Motors has achieved a gross profit of 1.98 billion yuan in the first half of the year, but its huge operating expenses have squeezed profit margins.
The "Silver Nine and Gold Ten" in the car market bring opportunities
However, Xiaopeng did not miss the opportunity.
According to the China Association of Automobile Dealers, the terminal sales of passenger cars in October are expected to be around 2.25 million units, achieving double growth on a month on month basis, breaking the traditional 'golden nine and silver ten' pattern, with obvious characteristics of 'silver nine and gold ten'. The inventory warning index of Chinese automobile dealers in October was 50.5%, a year-on-year decrease of 8.1 percentage points and a month on month decrease of 3.5 percentage points. The inventory warning index is close to the boom bust line, and the prosperity of the automobile circulation industry continues to improve.
Industry insiders point out that Xiaopeng Motors is unlikely to achieve its total sales target of 280000 vehicles this year. It is best to seize the sales opportunity during the peak autumn season, forget about sales volume, focus on polishing products, doing a good job in marketing and service, and plan for the long term.