By ZHANG Xilong
First free-falling deliveries. Then a flopped new model. EV maker XPeng has been having a lot of trouble recently. The latest financial report (unaudited) shows that it lost 2.4 billion yuan (US340 million) in Q3, a 12 percent improvement from the previous quarter. But still more than twice the loss at this time last year.
Blame the boss
Deliveries have almost halved from August’s 9,500 units to October’s 5,000 units. November hardly saw any improvement. Nothing is going well for the company. There’s no chance the Q4 target of 20,000 units will be met, which is already half of what was delivered in the same period last year.
XPeng’s G9 was described by CEO HE Xiaopeng as the marque’s most advanced technology, destined to be a top high-end electric SUV. But the release in September was a disaster. Customers were infuriated by the basic model that XPeng was forced to cut prices and improve add-on options only two days after the launch. Deliveries began at the end of October and only 1,500 cars have been delivered since.
He Xiaopeng accepts the blame for Xpeng’s sprawling structure and has begun sacking staff. “We will spend less in sales and marketing, and invest more in operations and customer service,” said He.
Since last year, He has been obsessing over fun projects like flying cars and robotaxis while everyone from phone makers to realtors has jumped on the EV wagon. China’s EV market overall has had a good year. Even XPeng’s deliveries are up a little, but most competitors have at least doubled their sales.
Not giving up yet
On Monday morning, XPeng shares in the HKEX were up by over 20 percent.
XPeng hasn’t given up on autonomous driving and appears to have some of the best autonomous parking technology in the world. In September, City NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot) was revealed. It can automatically navigate the streets of Guangzhou, day or night, and has been licensed for test drives in Guangzhou. The next generation of City NGP will include at least ten cities.
But buyers are not ready for cars that drive themselves – and may never be ready. They certainly aren’t ready to pay for them. He Xiaopeng’s protests that autonomous driving will be a must-have from 2023 impress no one, especially investors. In October, Ford and Volkswagen shut down their autonomous vehicle joint venture and the shares of startups like Aurora and Mobileye, are languishing.
