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Introduction
In the face of a new era of smart electric vehicles that is touching enough, what Xiaopeng is doing is "actively swinging his fist".
Author 丨 Cui Liwen
Responsible editor 丨 Xu Jinkai
Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin
Just yesterday, I believe that if it were not for Will Smith's "punch", many people would not have known that the 94th Academy Awards ceremony had been held. As for the root cause of his anger, it is dissatisfaction with the host Chris Locke's ridicule and jokes about his wife in the talk show.
Dramatically, in the subsequent awards ceremony, Will Smith successfully won this year's Oscar for best actor for "King Richard". When he took the stage to receive the award, he also tearfully expressed his deep apologies for what had just happened, "Love will make you make some crazy moves." ”
But as bystanders, we still feel that when family members are denigrated or even insulted, "active fist swinging" is what we should do, even if it is not so appropriate.
This reminds me of the obvious ironic remarks made by Tesla CEO Musk during the Guangzhou Auto Show two years ago when Xiaopeng announced that he would be equipped with lidar on the third mass-produced model.
"People scold you, why are you so polite, don't think how good they are."
At that time, He Xiaopeng was angry. But calm down, he also clearly knows that the best way to break rumors is to use real performance to prove how correct the path chosen is.
In the past, with the push of NGP automatic navigation assisted driving, VPA memory parking and other functions, it has gained the recognition of end users and ushered in the unanimous praise of the entire industry.
There is no doubt that this new force has firmly established the label of "intelligent" car manufacturing. As everyone knows, also yesterday, with the official release of its Q4 and 2021 annual financial reports, in terms of final results, Xiaopeng obviously made another successful "active punch".
Everything is on track
When Xiaopeng wrote his 2020 financial report a long time ago, he threw several different questions to him, and the answers it gave together formed a complete report card. Therefore, in the face of the past 2021, we still want to continue this simple and straightforward way.
First, do you make money?
From the data point of view, the total revenue of the entire Q4 Xiaopeng once again hit a record high, reaching 8.56 billion yuan, an increase of 200.1% year-on-year and 49.6% month-on-month. From this point of view, the total revenue successfully exceeded the mark of 20 billion yuan, reaching 20.99 billion yuan, an increase of 259.1% year-on-year. As another key indicator to measure the ability to "make money", Xiaopeng's gross profit margin for the whole year was 12.5%, an increase of 7.9% year-on-year.
"With the accelerated delivery of our three models, we will have revenue of more than RMB20 billion for the full year of 2021. In particular, we recorded significant growth in the fourth quarter, with revenue reaching RMB8.6 billion, up 200.1% year-on-year. With the strong models we sell, the planned launch of new models based on the new platform, and the leading position in technology, we are confident of continued growth and structural improvement in gross margin." ”
The above paragraph is summarized by Gu Hongdi, honorary vice chairman and president of Xiaopeng Automobile. And what he said precisely represents the best state of the new force to build the car. Although it has not yet touched the node of the final "turnaround", it has been on the road of constantly approaching. At present, a large amount of money is invested in research and development, sales and even the development of the energy replenishment system, which is a business that only makes money in the long run.
Second, how many cars have you sold?
In fact, the answer to this question is probably the least suspenseful existence. Readers who are familiar with Xiaopeng will inevitably know that it is the well-deserved sales crown of the new forces in the whole of 2021, and the cumulative delivery of new cars in the whole year reached 98,155, an increase of 263% year-on-year. Q4 reached a record 41,751 units, up 63% sequentially.
In terms of specific models, the Xiaopeng P7, which just achieved the 100,000th off-line just a few days ago, has become an absolute "main sales responsibility", and the annual delivery volume exceeded 60,000 vehicles, accounting for 61.7%. Seeing such a performance, I had to admire Xiaopeng for completing an unprecedented "big gamble" with a slightly niche pure electric coupe. It is precisely because of the existence of P7 that it can harvest more and more flowers and applause.
However, in this process, it is also necessary to affirm the contribution provided by the Xiaopeng P5 and Xiaopeng G3i, as He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Automobile, said, "We recorded considerable growth in 2021, and under the leadership of the best-selling smart car P7 and the newly launched smart home car P5, the delivery volume reached a new high in the fourth quarter." Coupled with the rapidly increasing penetration of electric vehicles in China and our highly competitive products, our total deliveries more than tripled year-on-year throughout the year and in the fourth quarter. ”
Third, what is your biggest gain?
To be fair, when talking about this issue, if you consider it from Xiaopeng's point of view, there may be many answers that meet the conditions. But personally, I still want to vote for three separate sectors.
First of all, it must be emphasized that as the first car company in "Wei Xiaoli" to successfully ring the bell on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Xiaopeng took the lead in completing the "double major listing" and was included in the "Hong Kong Stock Connect" in February this year. The fierce offensive displayed by the capital market has been able to prove that its system and execution are excellent enough.
Reflected in the financial report, as of the end of Q4 2021, the cash and cash equivalents held by Xiaopeng reached a very abundant 43.54 billion yuan, an increase of 23.2% year-on-year, which has also become the largest source of confidence for seeking the next stage of development.
Secondly, Xiaopeng has strengthened the moat it has become more and more reliable in the "intelligent" plate. Whether it is a smart cockpit or a high-end assisted driving system, from the feedback of the user side, it has become a well-deserved leader in the industry.
The data does not lie, Q4 Xiaopeng is proud of the XPILOT 3.0, and the optional rate has reached 20%. In contrast, Tesla's FSD option rate is less than 2%. As the absolute support behind it, the annual R&D expenditure in 2021 reached 4.11 billion yuan, an increase of 138.4% year-on-year.
As for this year, how Xiaopeng said, the key work of the intelligent plate is to ensure that the more advanced urban NGP functions can be pushed as scheduled.
"We are excited about the urban NGP that is being developed and rapidly iterated. The goal of the Urban NGP is to achieve superior safety and the best user experience in complex urban driving scenarios. The upcoming launch of the Urban NGP through OTAs will further strengthen our technological leadership and mark another important milestone in our journey to achieve all-scenario intelligent assisted driving for car owners. ”
In addition, it successfully launched a medium-sized pure electric SUV that made everyone shine- Xiaopeng G9. At the Guangzhou Auto Show held in November last year, when the new car debuted, it quickly triggered a heated discussion in the entire industry. New electrical and electronic architecture, 800V high voltage platform, dual lidar, XPILOT 4.0, integrated domain controller...
It can be said that under the blessing of a famous brand, G9 undoubtedly represents Xiaopeng's strongest R & D and manufacturing strength at present, and it itself shoulders the heavy responsibility of "brand rushing". So far, the above three parts are also the biggest gains in 2021 in my eyes.
Fourth, what are you doing for your own users?
Many times, I always think about whether it is necessary to become a so-called "user enterprise" for the new forces to build cars. After all, drawing on the successful path of some traditional car companies, they have not bound themselves to the owner so firmly.
However, by chance, when I saw several car owners in the Xiaopeng super charging station happily chatting and exchanging their own car experience and small stories, I suddenly found that only at this stage, in the context of the imperfect infrastructure of the whole society, it is the most important thing to do to serve their own users and give them the greatest convenience.
Self-built energy replenishment system and improvement of offline sales network and service center are obviously the "tentacles" to achieve this goal. In contrast, Xiaopeng, according to the financial report, added 613 brand super charging stations in 2021, reaching a total of 772, covering 308 cities.
As of January 17, 2022, the Xiaopeng supercharging system has covered all 337 prefecture-level cities and municipalities directly under the central government in China. Sales stores, 197 new stores in 2021, the total number of stores reached 357, covering 129 cities.
Obviously, after investing a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources, we finally ushered in a stage of harvest, and also prompted He Xiaopeng to continue to have the confidence to say, "Sales services and supercharging networks are expanding rapidly, and the pace of new product launches is accelerating, paving the way for us to further penetrate the high-end market. ”
Fifth, what are your expectations for the beginning of the year?
If the above four continuous questions can basically summarize what Xiaopeng has done in 2021, then as the last question in this paragraph, I would like to talk about the outlook for a new year that has arrived.
According to the information from the financial report, the expected delivery volume for the ongoing Q1 is between 33,500 units and 34,000 units, an increase of 151.1% to 154.9% year-on-year. Total revenue ranged from RMB7.2 billion to RMB7.3 billion, an increase of 144.0% to 147.4% year-on-year.
Considering the impact of the current epidemic, chip shortage and soaring prices of power battery raw materials, Xiaopeng has the courage to make such expectations, and has been able to prove many things. Not surprisingly, comparing the other two members of the head echelon horizontally, Xiaopeng will continue to sit firmly in the position of the new force to sell the crown, and everything seems to be on the right track.
There is no concealment
"The car circle needs the existence of a founder like He Xiaopeng who is straightforward and fast-talking."
Indeed, despite those hypocrisies, as a media, I am really tired of participating in the kind of communication activities that are hidden in everything and exchanged hesitantly. After listening to the conference call held after the release of Xiaopeng Q4 and 2021 financial reports, the description at the beginning of this paragraph quickly appeared in my mind.
No kidding, the amount of information is really large, and you can clearly feel a state of ripe timing and then gradually bursting out of ambition.
First of all, there has been a good feedback from the terminal market and users on Xiaopeng P7 and Xiaopeng P5 in the past year, prompting him to directly shout out the sales expectations for the two products this year.
"P7 delivered more than 60,000 vehicles in 2021, winning the first place in the delivery of pure electric models of the new forces, is a well-deserved explosive model and intelligent benchmark model, and will impact the monthly delivery of more than 10,000 vehicles this year." The P5 officially began delivery in Q4 2021, and with the improvement of the supply chain and the launch of the urban NGP, it is also expected to gradually approach the P7 in the second half of the year. ”
In other words, in He Xiaopeng's eyes, the possibility of both breaking through the 10,000 mark of monthly sales is still increasing. Next, it's about the Xiaopeng G9.
In terms of answers, this large five-seat medium and large pure electric SUV is currently progressing smoothly, and the PT production prototype has officially rolled off the production line from the Zhaoqing factory and will be released on sale as scheduled in the third quarter of this year.
"The Xiaopeng G9 is China's first mass production model based on an 800V high-voltage silicon carbide platform, which can be charged for 5 minutes and have a range of 200 kilometers. At the same time, the XPILOT 4.0 intelligent driver assistance system will be launched for the first time. It is expected that after the P7 becomes a hit, Xiaopeng is another big killer in the SUV market. In addition, the Xiaopeng G9 has entered a higher price range, which will further improve the overall gross profit margin level of Xiaopeng. ”
What is certain is that the significance of the arrival of this new car, or its own mission, is to raise the upper limit of Xiaopeng at all levels and strive to raise it to a higher level. In order to be in the next stage of competition, to find a better position.
And next year, Xiaopeng will vigorously push forward the pace of new ones, and it will still not stop. According to He Xiaopeng, two new model platforms and their first models will be launched, namely the C-class platform and the B-class platform.
The new platform will inherit and develop Xiaopeng's continued leading aesthetic design capabilities, electrification and intelligent driving capabilities, as well as advanced manufacturing processes (such as ultra-large integrated die casting), to help it obtain strong cost control capabilities and cover a wider range of user groups in the mid- and high-end markets with huge growth potential.
It is precisely because of the above series of products that are about to be delivered or are already in the planning as an endorsement, Xiaopeng's medium- and long-term goal is to increase the overall gross profit margin to more than 25%. To this end, this new force will also adhere to the entrepreneurial spirit and business thinking, and continuously improve operational efficiency.
"System platforming will drive changes in our powertrain, manufacturing processes and BOM cost system. Gross margins for new models, including the G9, and the gross margin for the company as a whole will be structurally improved. And with the help of scale effects and operating leverage, the expense ratio will continue to decline. ”
For a long time in the past, several head new forces have always been criticized for making cars, that is, they have not really made a profit for many years, and the gold content of the business model has been proved through the results. So at present, what Xiaopeng is doing is to achieve self-transfusion as soon as possible through continuous innovation.
To this end, it is also well aware that as the largest "long board" in its hands, the development of intelligent plates also determines whether the above nodes can be achieved faster.
In the conference call, He Xiaopeng also confidently disclosed that the research and development of NGP, the core function city of XPILOT3.5, is in good condition, and after obtaining the approval of the relevant competent authorities, it is planned to be officially launched in the first batch of cities at the end of the second quarter of this year.
"The urban NGP test version is rapidly iterating, the security and user experience of each version are continuously improving, the performance of XPILOT3.5 based on the new architecture in the urban scene far exceeds expectations, in the P5 mass production car, the number of takeovers per 100 kilometers has begun to approach the high-speed NGP, and the comprehensive experience is benchmarking the domestic head of Robotaxi company, and in considerable aspects has achieved catch-up."
It is undeniable that seeing such a description, combined with the recent electric vehicle hundred people meeting, He Xiaopeng also said, "From the test results, the urban NGP effect launched during the year will be better than Tesla FSD." "It can be said that the expectation value of this high-end driver assistance system has reached the point of overflowing."
For the 2023 that has not yet arrived, Xiaopeng plans to officially launch EPILOT 4.0 to achieve intelligent assisted driving at high speed and in all scenarios in the city. Among them, at least 4 models support XPILOT 4.0, and will gradually unify the intelligent driver assistance hardware and software platform of the new model.
Compared with other mass-produced intelligent driver assistance systems in the industry, XPILOT 4.0 will have a significant technical difference. Under the premise of ensuring a high degree of security, XPILOT 4.0 has more comprehensive usage scenarios, wider geographical coverage, and better interaction and driving experience.
To some extent, XPILOT 4.0 will popularize high-level intelligent assisted driving, driving the acceleration of the entire automobile traffic from manual driving to the era of human-machine co-driving. At that time, the penetration rate of XPILOT's full software will be significantly higher than it is now.
Seeing this, I would like to say that when the tide of electrification comes, China's new energy market needs such a courageous and determined attempt.
However, we must be vigilant that in the process of pursuing the "dream of building a car", the opportunity is often accompanied by risks. In fact, the sudden change in the industry environment in 2022 is a very cruel test for everyone's ability to resist risks.
He Xiaopeng also talked about similar issues, saying that in the past year, Xiaopeng has developed and validated hundreds of alternative supply options to ensure the stability of the supply chain. This year, although it will still face the challenges of chip shortage and soaring cost of battery raw materials, Xiaopeng will continue to work together with suppliers to overcome it with the ability to quickly develop alternative supply solutions.
There is no winter that does not pass, no spring that does not come, and in the process, there is no need to be too concerned about how others do it. In contrast, finding a development path that suits you and unswervingly executing it is the right and only answer.
At the end of the article, I still want to end with a passage he Xiaopeng said in the spotlight after the completion of the high-speed NGP expedition in March 2021.
"In the past, we did a bold thing, and we have always believed that smart cars are the future. Today, Xiaopeng has entered a new level. Stepping over this step, we will have more food and grass, more trust, more support. ”
With the release of the Q4 and 2021 financial reports, the deep meaning behind what it says can already be felt. In the face of a new era of smart electric vehicles that is touching enough, what Xiaopeng is doing is "actively swinging his fist".
| Cui Liwen |
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