"In recent years, I don't know how many car owners have been targeted by Xiaopeng Motors. Now, the old car owners who initially supported them have become monkeys." Mr. Xu, the car owner who purchased Xiaopeng G3 in 2019, told a reporter from Beike Finance.
"Yesterday we talked about the mentality of G9 old car owners, today we talked about P5 LiDAR old car owners, and tomorrow we give up G3 old car owners. Do we all have to take turns with G6 and X9 the day after tomorrow? What about the credibility of the Xiaopeng brand if this continues?" said Mr. Li, the owner of Xiaopeng G3i.
"Xiaopeng Motors' current operations are incomprehensible. In the public opinion field, they engage in a heated debate with their competitors in the field of autonomous driving, then apologize; post on social media that the media cannot understand financial reports; constantly promote new cars in products, but do not pay much attention to old car owners; cash flow is declining quarter by quarter in financial reports, and in the end, gross profit margins are all negative. It is unclear what kind of development path the company will take in the future." A nearby automotive analyst said so.
On December 21st, Xiaopeng Motors announced that it will discontinue production of its G3 and G3i vehicles within the year. This move has once again sparked heated public opinion, with some veteran car owners saying that Xiaopeng's "backstabbing" has finally come his turn.
Zhang Xiang, a visiting professor at the Yellow River University of Science and Technology, stated that the innovation of Xiaopeng Motors is imperative, and encountering fluctuations in the development process is also normal. But how to stabilize reputation and convert sales into profits in the future is a necessary condition for the sustainable development of enterprises.
Behind the acceleration of sales growth, old car owners have launched "joint letters" one after another
In the second half of 2023, Xiaopeng Motors broke the previous slump with the cost-effectiveness of the G6 and ushered in a long-awaited sales explosion. The new G9 in the second half of the year also achieved a small sales peak with a lower price than the old model.
According to the data, the monthly sales of Xiaopeng Motors from June to November 2023 were 8620 vehicles, 11008 vehicles, 13690 vehicles, 15310 vehicles, 20002 vehicles, and 20041 vehicles, respectively. According to November data, the sales of products G6, G9, P7, and P5 under Xiaopeng Motors were 8750, 5778, 2990, and 2523, respectively.
In November 2022, Xiaopeng Motors sold only 5811 vehicles.
Through a series of reforms and new cars, Xiaopeng is gradually recovering in the market, with a much better momentum than in 2022.
But behind the hot sales of the product, some old car owners who once chose Xiaopeng during difficult times of Xiaopeng Motors feel a "thorn in their back". Car owners of models such as P5, G9, and G3 frequently speak up on the internet.
The discontinuation of G3 and G3i this time is an adjustment of Xiaopeng Automobile's product line. According to Mr. Liu, the sales specialist of Xiaopeng Motors, G3 has not been actively promoted for sale for over a month, and there may be some inventory cars in other stores, so there may not be many new car owners.
But several former car owners of Xiaopeng, as well as high-speed Beike Finance reporters, are currently most concerned that Xiaopeng has replaced its technology platform, and old models such as G3 and P7 may face problems such as insufficient parts, weak software updates, and maintenance personnel not understanding the product.
"Although Xiaopeng has provided some compensation, we still feel like 'abandoned children'. Since the first car was launched in 2019, this car has been redesigned for 4 years, promoting intelligence, a large canopy, and reliable batteries. However, compared to the G6, G9, and P7, our car is similar to an orphan. There are not many updates throughout the year, there are not many useful functions, and intelligent driving is basically not closely related. Why did we buy it back then?" Mr. Xu, the owner of G3, said.
In addition to the discontinuation of the G3 causing another stir, veteran owners of the G9 and P5 also frequently complained in the second half of this year.
In mid September, the G9 was refreshed and launched, with a price drop of up to 110000 yuan compared to the old model. Compared to some models that still require optional configurations when the old model was launched, the G9 offers a richer range of standard configurations. High cost performance suddenly became the new label of G9. But in some old car owners of Xiaopeng G9, different voices have emerged. "It used to be arrogant to drive the G9, but now it's like an intellectual disability." A Guangdong car owner roast in the group.
Another Mr. Li, who is preparing to change cars, said that his top of the line G9 has been driven for a year and the second-hand car dealer has offered a price guarantee of 260000 yuan. "A car worth 470000 yuan, driven for a year, told me it sells for 260000 yuan. Car dealers say that new car prices are so low, and it's difficult for me to sell this old car at a high price," Mr. Li said.
In addition to the dissatisfaction of G9 car owners, Xiaopeng P5 car owners, especially those who have purchased the Xiaopeng P5 LiDAR version, are filled with complaints.
On October 24th, during Xiaopeng Automotive Technology Day, He Xiaopeng showcased a series of new technologies from Xiaopeng Motors. Including the Tianji intelligent cockpit and more powerful assisted driving capabilities. According to the plan, within this year, there will be 50 cities where Xiaopeng Motors will land for urban assisted driving.
But after the event ended, hundreds of old owners of Xiaopeng P5 publicly sent a joint letter to Xiaopeng Motors. These old car owners stated that they had previously purchased a compact sedan P5 equipped with LiDAR for over 200000 yuan, but the intelligent driving plan to open 50 cities this year did not include these car owners, and the overall technology update speed was also very slow. They hope that Xiaopeng Motors can provide compensation.
"I have estimated the price, and the P5 LiDAR version I bought for over 200000 yuan in 2021 can only be sold for 120000 yuan, a decrease of nearly 40%," Shanghai car owner Mr. Huang told Shell Finance reporters.
"I feel that every time He Xiaopeng and his team communicate with old car owners in their posts, they always have the same meaning. I summarize it to him as' I'm sorry, I can't wait for you anymore, I have to move forward and pursue a better tomorrow for myself '," said Mr. Liu, the owner of Xiaopeng P5.
Frequent efforts in the public opinion field have led to the increasingly strong image of Xiaopeng Motors, and behind it, the gross profit is no longer healthy
In the second half of 2023, Xiaopeng Motors also experienced two public opinion storms.
In early November, He Xiaopeng, the Chairman of Xiaopeng Motors, commented in a media interview that when a friend told AEB, I believe 99% of it is fake. It is fake, and all the publicity is not officially released by the company, but comes from small videos. Our people also went to ask, and its AEB cannot be driven at all. There are too many cases of accidental braking on the road.
He Xiaopeng's remarks immediately sparked heated discussions in public opinion. Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, posted a message on WeChat Moments, suspected of receiving a reply from across the air.
Image of He Xiaopeng's post/He Xiaopeng's social media account
A few days after the incident escalated, He Xiaopeng sent an article thanking Yu Chengdong for his suggestions and generosity, bringing the controversy to a temporary end.
One wave only calms down, another wave rises again.
In mid December, a public relations manager at Xiaopeng Motors was suspected to have posted on WeChat Moments and opened fire from a media outlet.
This media person participated in a communication meeting with Xiaopeng investors at the auto show and recorded a question. He was invited out of the venue by Xiaopeng. To this end, the media person sent a roast to the circle of friends: compared with Xiao Peng's forcing reporters to ask questions out of the venue at the Guangzhou Auto Show, Wei Lai is at least more open and friendly. Li Bin came to the venue early and shook hands with everyone one by one.
The public relations manager, on the other hand, posted that I haven't invited him since I can't even understand the financial report.
Later, she publicly expressed some opinions, which sparked heated discussions in public opinion. Some comments suggest that it is not right for the media to come uninvited; Some comments also suggest that the statements made by individuals related to Xiaopeng Motors are highly aggressive and involve insulting personality. The media person has many years of experience in the industry and is not "unable to understand financial reports". Such comments may have a negative impact on the brand.
Amidst the active voices of Xiaopeng executives and the rising sales of Xiaopeng Motors. Some of the problems faced by enterprises remain unresolved.
The issue of negative net profit and gross profit margin is like a sharp sword hanging high above the head of this new car making force.
Mapping of Changes in Some Business Indicators of Xiaopeng Motors/Beijing News Shell Finance Reporter Bai Haotian
According to data from Wande, Xiaopeng Automobile's net profit in 2022 was -9.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 87%. However, in the first three quarters of 2023, Xiaopeng Automobile's net profit had already reached -9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 33%. The intensification of losses in 2023 is almost a foregone conclusion.
In terms of operating indicators, Xiaopeng Automobile's gross profit margin and net profit margin for the first and third quarters of 2023 were -2.03% and -51.22%, respectively. The relevant data for the same period in 2022 were 12.17% and -31.21%, respectively.
When a car company's gross profit margin is negative, the industry generally believes that the company has entered a situation of "selling one car at a loss, one car at a time".
At a time when Xiaopeng Automobile is facing pressure from the fusion of ice and fire, Ideal Automobile, also a new force in car manufacturing, continues to improve.
On November 9th, Ideal Automobile released its financial report for the third quarter of 2023, which showed that the company delivered over 100000 vehicles in the third quarter, with a quarterly revenue of 34.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 271.2%. The operating profit and net profit for the same period were 2.34 billion yuan and 2.81 billion yuan respectively, achieving four consecutive quarters of profitability.
For Xiaopeng Motors, how to handle the series of challenges on the road of change and become a beloved and respected brand, perhaps there are other ways to choose besides "running" and accelerating product upgrades in the public opinion field.
Bai Haotian, a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance