On March 28, Xiaopeng Automobile released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2021. Although Xiaopeng Automobile's revenue has increased significantly, the loss margin has expanded year-on-year, which exposes the problem of insufficient cost control ability. On the night of the annual report, a Xiaopeng G3 suddenly caught fire in a community in Longhua District, Shenzhen, which also cast a shadow on its brand image.
On the night of the annual report, the Xiaopeng model caught fire
On the night that Xiaopeng Automobile released its fourth quarter 2021 financial report and 2021 annual report, in a residential area in Longhua District, Shenzhen, a Xiaopeng G3 car suddenly caught fire. It is reported that this is also the fifth fire accident that has occurred in Xiaopeng Automobile's products since December 2019.
According to netizen reports, on the evening of March 28, a new energy vehicle caught fire and burned under the building of a resident. After the fire department extinguished the fire, the entire vehicle was almost completely burned down.
A photo taken from overhead shows that the logo at the front of the burning vehicle can clearly identify a Xiaopeng model. In this regard, Xiaopeng Automobile also responded on March 29, confirming that the model involved was the 2019 G3 and saying that it would fully cooperate with the investigation of the cause of the accident.
On March 29, Mr. Zhao, a witness at the scene, told reporters that he lived in the next building, and the incident occurred in the first district of Baishilong Community in Longhua District, "around 23:00, after hearing the explosion, the family rushed out of the community, so scary scene and smell." Mr. Zhao also said that the firefighters arrived in time after 5 minutes, the fire was controlled, there were no casualties at the scene, and "from the beginning of the fire to the departure of the trailer, the whole process should be more than an hour." Another witness, Ms. Zhong, said that she also heard an explosion and saw the vehicle emitting white smoke, and then burst out a small flame and finally the fire became bigger and bigger.
According to the staff of the Longhua District Fire Rescue Brigade, the fire was quickly extinguished, and there were no casualties at the scene.
Xiaopeng has recalled some G3 models
The factory has not responded to whether the vehicle that caught fire is within the scope of the recall
As the first mass-produced model of Xiaopeng Motors, the G3 did not become a "blockbuster" model after its listing. In 2021, Xiaopeng Motors made a mid-term modification of the model. As of March 28, Xiaopeng's financial report released, the G3 series models delivered 629 units in February 2022.
It is reported that this is not the first time that a similar situation has occurred in the G3 model of Xiaopeng Motors. According to previous media reports, in August 2020, a Xiaopeng G3 in Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, had a smoke and fire accident and exploded. In this regard, Xiaopeng Automobile has publicly responded that after the accident, the fire personnel put out the fire in time, the occupants were safe, no one was injured, and the vehicle was quickly and safely transferred. After the preliminary investigation of the company's personnel, the appearance of the vehicle is intact. After the investigation of the lifting of the store, it was found that there were obvious serious bumps and injuries at the bottom of the battery box, resulting in serious damage to the battery, and the preliminary judgment was the cause of the accident.
It is worth noting that on January 29, 2021, the official website of the State Administration for Market Regulation released the news that Guangzhou Xiaopeng Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. had recalled some G3 models.
The news pointed out that Guangzhou Xiaopeng Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was entrusted to file a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulations in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products and the Implementation Measures for the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products, and decided to recall some Xiaopeng G3 vehicles produced from March 29, 2019 to September 27, 2020 from January 30, 2021, a total of 13,399 vehicles.
According to the news, the vehicles within the scope of this recall, the tinned terminal connected to the copper row screw on the inverter DC bus capacitor may cause a short circuit between the positive and negative poles of the high voltage DC due to the tin whiskers, resulting in no high voltage power supply for the inverter. When this happens, if the vehicle is parked, it may not be able to start again; if the vehicle is in a driving state, it may cause the vehicle to lose power and there is a safety hazard. Guangzhou Xiaopeng Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. will replace the improved inverter for the vehicles within the scope of the recall free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.
Is the vehicle in this accident within the scope of the above recall? Xiaopeng Motors said that there is no more information to share. "We attach great importance to the rights and interests of users, and will fully cooperate with relevant departments to investigate the cause of the accident, continue to follow up the follow-up results, and assist customers in handling follow-up related matters." Xiaopeng Car replied.
Revenue increased significantly, but losses also widened significantly
According to the financial report, in the whole year of 2021, the revenue of Xiaopeng Automobile was 20.988 billion yuan, up 259.1% year-on-year. Among them, the sales revenue of automobiles was 17.733 billion yuan, an increase of 231.5% year-on-year, and the revenue of services and other aspects was 633 million yuan, an increase of 177.6% year-on-year.
At the same time as the revenue increased significantly, the loss margin of Xiaopeng Automobile also expanded significantly. For the whole year of 2021, Xiaopeng Automobile's net loss was 4.863 billion yuan, an increase of 78% year-on-year. In the fourth quarter, Xiaopeng Automobile's net loss was 1.287 billion yuan, an increase of 63.5% year-on-year, and the net loss under non-GAAP was 1.198 billion yuan, an increase of 68% year-on-year.
At the same time, Xiaopeng Automobile's gross profit margin for the whole year last year was 12.5%, and the automobile profit margin was 11.5%. In terms of related costs and expenses, in the whole year of 2021, the sales cost of Xiaopeng Automobile was 18.366 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 229.2%, the research and development expenditure was 4.114 billion yuan, an increase of 138.4% year-on-year, and the sales and general administrative expenses were 5.305 billion yuan, an increase of 81.7% year-on-year.
Xiaopeng Motors said that the increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the full year of 2021, as well as the substantial increase in the cost of sales, was mainly due to the increase in the delivery volume of Xiaopeng P7 and P5 vehicles. Another expense item with a large increase came from research and development, and Xiaopeng Motors said that the increase in research and development expenses was mainly due to the increase in employee compensation due to the increase in R&D personnel and the increase in expenses related to the development of new models to support future growth.
In terms of cash flow, as of December 31, 2021, the total amount of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term deposits, investments and long-term deposits held by Xiaopeng Motors was 43.544 billion yuan, an increase of 23.2% year-on-year.
Cost control capabilities need to be enhanced
In the whole year of 2021, the total delivery volume of Xiaopeng Automobile reached 98,155 units, an increase of 263% year-on-year. Among them, the number of P7 deliveries in 2021 was 60,569 units, an increase of 302% from 15,062 units in 2020. In 2021, P5 deliveries reached 7,865 units. Although Xiaopeng sold the best among the three head companies of the new car-making forces, it was the one that lost the most.
It is worth mentioning that Xiaopeng Automobile's annual revenue exceeded 20 billion yuan for the first time last year, but compared with the ideal annual revenue figure of 27.01 billion yuan and Weilai's annual revenue of 36.14 billion yuan, Xiaopeng is still lagging behind. As for profitability, there is also a gap compared to the two major competitors. In 2021, Xiaopeng Automobile's net loss expanded by 78% year-on-year, while NIO's net loss in 2021 narrowed to 4.02 billion yuan, and ideally expanded to 322 million yuan.
The reason is that the research and development cost of Xiaopeng Automobile accounts for 19.6% of revenue, which is higher than that of Weilai and Ideal, which also leads to the expansion of its loss margin to a certain extent. It is true that the delivery volume is in a leading position, but the relevant cost control ability is not as strong as that of competitors, and the gross profit margin of the whole vehicle is low, which is also a fact.
In terms of gross profit margin, the gross profit margin of Xiaopeng in 2021 was 12.5%, lower than the 17.2% and 22.4% of Weilai and The ideal; in terms of automobile gross profit margin, Xiaopeng's 11.5% was also inferior to the 20.9% and 20.6% of Weilai and the ideal. To this end, Xiaopeng Motors said that the company's medium- and long-term goal is to increase the overall gross profit margin to more than 25%. According to reports, Xiaopeng will next increase the gross profit margin through model platforming and the technology improvement of the factory.
The annual report disclosed that the delivery volume of Xiaopeng Automobile in January and February this year was 19147 units, and it is expected to deliver 33500 to 34000 new cars in the first quarter, an increase of more than 150% year-on-year, basically locking in the new forces in the first quarter to deliver the champion. In the third quarter of this year, Xiaopeng flagship smart SUV G9 will be officially listed, and the estimated price of 300,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan will further enhance the overall gross profit margin level of Xiaopeng.
New Evening News integrated Southern Metropolis Daily (nddaily), N video
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