The G6 is about to be released, but Xpeng should be more alert to the arrival of the "WM moment"

This article is the 660th original work of Deep Diving Atom

The pattern of new automakers is undergoing profound changes.

The ideal of riding the wall, relying on the user experience of "refrigerator" and "large color TV" stacked, began to turn over in sales to catch up.

Xiaopeng, which was once optimistic, especially thought to run a local path in the field of autonomous driving, is increasingly showing a situation of oblivion. Especially after the release of G9 last year, the background of not reaping the expected results, Xpeng as a whole seems a little weak. Although the "i" has been upgraded for various models, the feeling does not seem obvious to consumers.

What's more heart-wrenching is that as a high-end G9 that Xpeng impacted, it was plagued by abnormal noise by the owner as soon as it was listed. However, more than half a year has passed, and there are still users complaining about abnormal noise. A friend of Deep Diving Atom, who is also the owner of the G9, found the problem of abnormal noise after buying the car, and the final solution was to replace the motor. But she told us that not all car owners who were troubled by abnormal noises, Xiaopeng, took the initiative to replace the motor for them, and they were still full of the meaning of watching people order dishes.

01

G9 sprint failed, severely defeated Xiaopeng

Before the release of the G9, Xpeng relied on the P7 to pull a good impression among users. Many users bluntly said that P7 is the pinnacle of appearance among domestic models. More importantly, compared with other car companies, Xiaopeng at that time performed more hard in automatic driving. The technical background of Xpeng's founding team also makes many users full of confidence.

Especially in the blind booking stage of G9, the data is still very bright. But the messy press conference and the chaotic pricing system and strategy disappointed consumers. The most deadly thing is the product itself. The abnormal noise problem of the G9 has made many users who originally had prepared emotions to advocate for it feel very frustrated.

△Xpeng G9

A G9 user who has replaced the motor told Deep Diving Atom that aside from the abnormal noise problem of the G9 and the attitude of communicating and solving problems with Xiaopeng in the whole process, this car is actually quite good in terms of battery life, charging speed, and overall posture experience. But it was the after-sales service of crotch pulling that made her feel that she originally thought that she was buying a luxury car, but the actual service she enjoyed was not as good as the old man's happiness. I can no longer mention the enthusiasm to recommend this car to the people around me, and it was even used as a joke among friends for a while.

However, the biggest problem exposed by the abnormal noise of G9 is the shortcomings of Xpeng's corporate governance and user service awareness. As a rising star, the competitive advantage of new energy vehicle companies with traditional car companies lies more in user operation and product experience. User operation, simply put, can cover pre-sales, sales and after-sales, especially after sales, and can find the interface to communicate with the enterprise at any time.

How important this is, Xpeng's peer NIO has set an example, and used the results to tell peers how important this practice is for emerging car companies. Because for new brands, consumers decide to buy, itself is a risk, to bear multiple decision-making pressure, when there is a problem, the psychological burden of consumers will be greater, in this case, the timely and effective communication between enterprises and users will make users more at ease, and it is easier to strengthen their confidence in making the right choice.

However, based on the feedback of several car owners, Xiaopeng was not happy in the process of dealing with abnormal noise. I have always stressed that this is not the problem of the car itself, and even want to push the problem to the consumers themselves. Only those car owners who do not want to solve the problem can get the solution of priority replacement of the motor.

Since this car is prepared as a sprint high-end model, only by selling more can we better achieve this goal and get more positive feedback. So why is Xiaopeng so stingy when dealing with this problem? Is it because there is no clear internal division of responsibilities, or does the user feedback not reach management, or is there a disregard for the product problem itself? In particular, the abnormal noise problem has been reported by users shortly after the start of sales of G9, if Xpeng is willing to solve it, and raise the priority of the problem to a sufficient strategic height, and recall it generously, it can completely make the owner get a better reputation and evaluation. Such a simple account, but let Xiaopeng official back and forth, perhaps the deeper reason is that Xiaopeng's resources are tight and he is not able to solve these problems decently.

02

Is Xiaopeng's "WM moment" coming?

The sword of Damocles on the head of all new car-making forces is the same - sales. The ideal can raise his eyebrows and frequently make big noises because sales have increased.

On May 30, Li Auto announced that in the fourth week of May (5.22-5.28), Li Auto's weekly sales reached 0.71 million units. Subsequently, Li Xiang, CEO of Ideal Auto, said, "Whether it is the number of orders or deliveries, 1,000 vehicles / day has stood firm for three consecutive weeks. The next major task is to increase the supply of the supply chain, because the supply target at the beginning of the year was set a bit low. ”

△Xpeng's quarterly delivery volume

Although Xpeng's overall sales are higher than ideal cars, ideal is an upward trend, and Xpeng is a downward trend. And this downward trend has not improved. Taking the first quarter of 2023 as an example, Xpeng's quarterly delivery volume is 18,230 units, that is, on average, to a single month, sales are 6,077 units; On average, it is 1520 vehicles per week.

However, the ideal overall unit price is higher, while Xpeng has many models, higher marginal cost, and relatively low unit price. In this comparison, Xiaopeng's pressure came into being.

△Monthly delivery volume of WM in 2022

Because the listing was fruitless, the green and yellow did not connect, and WM Motor has entered the ICU. Although WM has not declared bankruptcy, the outside world sees that WM is basically brain dead. WM's situation has cast a psychological shadow on many new energy vehicle companies. Although everyone did not take the initiative to discuss, the development process of the WM roller coaster made all car companies scared. A WM-style decline may not be what all new forces do not want to see. The WM moment is like the Minsky moment of the car company.

G9, a big move that has been held back for so long, is currently broken. As for whether the follow-up can be repaired and then started, we think it still depends on the sincerity of Xiao to user Peng.

In a recent earnings conference call, Xpeng Motors Chairman He Xiaopeng said that the G6 will be officially listed in June, and large-scale deliveries will begin in July and climb rapidly. In addition, Xpeng Motors will also plan to launch a 7-seat pure electric MPV in the fourth quarter, which is internally named X9.

The upcoming G6, positioning is the benchmark Modle Y, and even the distance parameters of the two cars are the same, whether it can become a new model that can be hit after the P7 needs to be tested by the market. However, solving the problems of the G9 and repairing the market reputation is a priority before the release of the G6. Benchmarking against Modle Y may be more of a rhetoric, because the core of Tesla's winning users is that its assisted driving is good enough for most users, and there is no need to talk about the stable three-electric system. And other friends who don't have enough experience to make up for it, the overall experience created is not bad. So benchmarking against Modle Y can only be wishful thinking.

The entire new power market is also facing new disruptors. Although Huawei's car manufacturing was stopped by Ren Zhengfei, Huawei's participation in car manufacturing has intensified. Car companies that cooperate with Huawei have quickly made up for the shortcomings of marketing with Huawei, and the volume of marketing is getting higher and higher. This is what Xiaopeng needs to be alert to.

Before Wang Fengying went to Xiaopeng, he did a detailed investigation on the car company market, but after taking up his new position, he was unable to curb the decline in Xpeng's sales. Therefore, for new brands, it is not the channel that determines sales, in addition to doing a good job in products and services, holding high to improve market voice and word of mouth, a fresh method and heroism do not actually exist.

Xpeng Motors' financial report for the first quarter of 2023 has been released, showing that Xpeng Motors had a net loss of 2.34 billion yuan in the quarter, compared with a net loss of 1.7 billion yuan in the same period last year, and a net loss of 2.107 billion yuan expected by the market. Revenue for the second quarter is expected to be $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion, down by approximately 36.8% to 39.5% year-on-year. Vehicle deliveries are expected to range from 21,000 units to 2.2 units, representing a year-on-year decrease of approximately 36.1% to 39%. But from the data point of view, it is not without pressure.

Or is it the old problem, is it a wise choice not to solve the problem of the G9 folding halberd, not to repair and boost its brand image, and continuously release new models?