Xiaopeng, survive under the dangerous wall
Xiaopeng under the dangerous wall wants to start a self-rescue journey with the new car G6.
After several months of sluggish sales, Xpeng Motors (hereinafter referred to as "Xpeng") recently held a press conference to create momentum for the G6.
However, this huge press conference did not get off to a good start.
As the opening countdown ended, only lights and crowds were left at the press conference, and after waiting for several minutes, they still did not see the company's chairman He Xiaopeng appear, speculation and incomprehension gradually arose, until the background music sounded again, and He Xiaopeng, dressed in dark blue jeans and a gray-green shirt, quickly appeared.
Perhaps because this is the first time that Xiaopeng has held an offline press conference in three years, or perhaps because the protagonist of this conference is of great significance to the company, He Xiaopeng, who is belated, can hardly hide his nervousness.
The scene of the press conference Photo by Wu Di
A long way to help yourself
He Xiaopeng was nervous for a reason.
A year ago, Xpeng's deliveries began to decline, with monthly deliveries falling from a peak of 15,000 to about 5,000. In 2021, Xpeng Motors ranked first in the new force car manufacturing with an annual delivery volume of 98155, and this ranking dropped to 4th a year later, not only losing to the ideal and NIO of the same echelon, but even opening a gap of more than 30,000 by the little-known Nezha.
For a time, the theory of falling behind prevailed.
Xpeng wants to fight a turnaround battle, and in September last year it released its high-end flagship model - G9, which is Xpeng's first medium and large SUV, and the starting price of 309,900 yuan also carries He Xiaopeng's expectation of hitting the high-end market.
However, the complex model configuration and insincere pricing made the G9 cold, and even the company's emergency changes failed to save consumers, and G9 sales suffered a major setback. The G9 plunged after peaking at 4,000 units in December, with sales falling to less than 2,300 units in January and dropping to triple figures (960 units) in February, and the G9 continued to climb in this range for the next three months.
According to the data of Chedi, Xpeng G9 has sold a total of 12,484 units since its launch, ranking 33rd in the new energy SUV track, while its competitor ideal L8 sales exceeded 50,000 last year.
Compared with the grandeur of the previous ace model P7, Xpeng Motors, which was once an explosive manufacturing machine, is dumb at the moment.
In May 2020, the P7 was officially launched with a starting price of 229,900 yuan, and since then, its performance has soared, and in 2021, it ushered in a sharp increase in deliveries, with the annual delivery volume reaching 61,000 units, accounting for more than 60% of Xpeng's total deliveries. With the help of P7, Xiaopeng topped the list of new forces in one fell swoop.
However, the good times did not last long, with the adjustment of competitors' prices and the gradual increase of similar competitors in the market, the popularity of P7 gradually weakened, and the competitiveness was gradually surpassed by competitors.
After the first battle of self-rescue, Xiaopeng chose a safer way - to let the explosive model P7 return to the furnace and rebuild.
The facelifted P7i completely continues the appearance of the P7, while upgrading the interior, configuration, intelligence, etc., due to the direct competition between the price and Tesla Model 3, the starting price of up to 250,000 yuan weakens its competitive advantage, coupled with the unsatisfactory delivery speed, and finally failed to reproduce the wave of delivery set off when the P7 was launched.
to the edge of the cliff
Two important new products overturned one after another, and the old model could not support sales, and Xpeng's dilemma became more and more obvious in 2023.
In the first half of 2023, Xpeng Motors' monthly sales were below 9,000 units, and the cumulative sales in the first six months were 41,435 units.
This number does not even enter the top 10 on the list of new energy vehicle companies.
The ideal half-year sales are nearly 100,000 higher than Xiaopeng's, and the "back waves" such as Nezha, Zero Run, Extreme Krypton, and Deep Blue also mercilessly pat Xiaopeng on the beach.
Sluggish sales were quickly reflected in the financial figures. In the first quarter, Xpeng achieved total revenue of 4.03 billion yuan, down 45.9% year-on-year and 21.5% month-on-month. Automobile sales revenue was CNY 3.51 billion, down 49.8% y/y and 24.6% m/m.
The company's losses also showed a trend of expansion, with Xpeng's net profit loss reaching 2.337 billion yuan in a single quarter, an increase of 37.41% year-on-year; In terms of gross profit margin, there was a serious decline, with Xpeng's gross profit margin of 12.5%, 11.5% and 1.66% in the year before last, last year and the first quarter of this year, respectively; The automotive profit margin turned from positive to negative to -2.5%.
According to calculations, the average cost of bicycle sales of Xpeng Motors rose from 181,500 yuan in the first quarter of last year to 198,000 yuan in the same period this year. Under the influence of the price reduction promotion, the average bicycle price of Xpeng Motors dropped from 203,000 yuan in the first quarter of last year to 193,000 yuan in the same period this year, and last year selling a car to earn 21,000 yuan became now selling a car to lose 5,000 yuan, and the price reduction promotion directly affected the company's financial indicators.
Capital markets are also voting with their feet. On June 29, Xpeng Motors' U.S. stock closed at $11.83, with a market value of $10.239 billion, equivalent to NIO's 6% discount, less than one-third of the ideal.
The market is worried about whether Xiaopeng can get the chips on the next round of card tables under the knockout round, and there are even rumors that it will become the OEM of Xiaomi cars.
Whether it was He Xiaopeng or Xpeng Automobile, they all stood on the edge of the cliff.
Look at the G6 overturn
G6 is considered by the industry to be the key to determining Xpeng's "life and death".
At this press conference, He Xiaopeng showed obvious contradictions, on the one hand, he firmly denied the interpretation of the G6 added by the outside world "if a company only relies on one car, it is wrong", on the other hand, he was trying to release the signal that "G6 can save the current Xiaopeng".
After two failures, he has changed significantly: he no longer pursues high-end positioning, and understands that surviving is the first priority at present.
In order to survive, He Xiaopeng showed sincerity: the price of the G6 was between 209,900 yuan and 276,900 yuan, and as soon as the numbers on the big screen came out, it caused a burst of screams at the scene. He let out a long sigh, and the tension on the stage eased.
G6 price revealed by Wu Di
The exchange of price and profit for orders and sales seems to have worked with the G6. He Xiaopeng said at the meeting that Xpeng G6 opened pre-sale for 72 hours, and the order volume reached 25,000 vehicles, and the order volume reached 35,000 vehicles as of June 28. 40% of orders come from stores and 60% online.
He is confident that "I think the conversion rate of orders will be very high". What gives him this confidence is the G6 and its rivals
Tesla Model Y
It is difficult to distinguish between hardware and software.
In terms of appearance, the G6 has a length, width and height of 4753x1920x1650, Model Y length, width and height of 4750x1921x1624, and the wheelbase of both cars is also 2980mmm, and the size is almost the same. In terms of performance, Xpeng G6 is divided into two versions, single motor and dual motor, and the maximum power of the system can reach 358kW; The three models of the Model Y on sale are also divided into single-motor and dual-motor powertrains, with a maximum power of 357kW.
In terms of battery life, Xpeng G6 is significantly better than Model Y. The cruising range of Tesla Model Y basic, long-range and high-performance versions is 545 kilometers, 660 kilometers and 615 kilometers respectively, while the Xpeng G6 has three cruising levels of 580 kilometers, 755 kilometers and 700 kilometers respectively.
In terms of configuration pricing, Xpeng did not follow the previous old road, less than 6 months in office president Wang Fengying put the G6 model configuration and pricing "output" simpler and more direct, the new car is divided into Pro and Max versions, a total of 5 models, priced at 209,900 yuan to 276,900 yuan, nearly 60,000 yuan cheaper than the starting price of Model Y of 263,900 yuan.
He Xiaopeng said that after Wang Fengying came to Xpeng, the configuration and pricing combination of the model was emphasized, which is a good supplement for Xpeng.
Although he handed over his first report card after taking office, Wang Fengying still did not appear, and a Xiaopeng insider told reporters, "Wang will not show up until the G6 has completed the real data sale." ”
In addition to the price advantage, the killer feature of the G6 daring to compete with the Model Y also includes efficient urban high-end assisted driving functions, and Xiaopeng, which takes technology as the company's development direction, has done a lot of homework in this regard. Among them, the highest chip computing power of new car intelligent driving is 508Tops, while the highest chip computing power of Model Y is 144 Tops, and the optional price of Xpeng's XNGP is also comparable
tesla
Low, optional about 20,000 yuan. Model Y costs 34,000 yuan for a higher-end EAP, and if you want to choose an FSD equivalent to urban NGP, its optional price is as high as 64,000 yuan.
For the current stage of scientific and technological achievements, He Xiaopeng proudly introduced at the press conference that the company has achieved the first phase of XNGP in June this year, opening urban NGP in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing, and is expected to open XNGP functions that do not rely on HD maps at the end of the third quarter, which will be expanded to 50 cities and will radiate to 200 cities next year.
Although last year's G9 was slapped in the face with the phrase "the best SUV within 500,000", He Xiaopeng still did not forget to release a bold statement, this time he wants to surpass Tesla, "I think it will only take 2 months, G6 can become the champion of the market segment." ”
Among the 250,000 electric vehicles, the G6's direct competitor Model Y sold 31,100 units in May, and Xpeng's top sales also means that the G6's monthly sales will exceed 30,000 in two months.
He Xiaopeng knows the difficulty and the possibility of implementation, and he leaves a way back for himself: one of the G6's success criteria is "at least 10,000 vehicles per month". Compared with 30,000 a month, this standard obviously "releases water" a lot.
Photo by Xpeng G6 Wu Di
Stay until a year later
After all, Xpeng's gross profit margin has suffered a sharp drop in the first quarter, but He Xiaopeng believes that the current more important thing is cash flow, "the better the sales volume, the more positive the cash flow".
The press conference is hot, the number of orders in hand is also ideal, and the G6 seems to have a good start. But He Xiaopeng, who has experienced a long downturn, is still sober, and he understands that there is still a long way to go to "turn over".
With the experience of slow delivery of P7i and insufficient supply chain preparation, He Xiaopeng has increased his confidence in the G6's production capacity and supply chain, he said, "We climbed very quickly in July, August and September, and this time we definitely made much more preparations than before." ”
Even so, the three-month lead time is still too slow, and Xpeng still has a long way to go in terms of production, supply and marketing balance.
In addition, the adjustment of the company's internal organizational structure is still the focus of the market.
In October last year, He Xiaopeng personally presided over the internal organizational structure reform, sorting out five committees and three platforms for products, strategy, technology, sales and OTA, which many media regarded as the starting point of Xpeng's current round of reform.
In this reform, many senior management positions have changed, and Wang Fengying also used the company's distribution system after his arrival, after which Xiaopeng has already used the knife on various chaos in distribution channels, such as integrating brand, marketing, sales and other departments, and opening up digital links in sales, marketing services and after-sales. After Wang Fengying's arrival, he took a more direct approach: abolished the regional system and divided the country into more than 20 sales districts, making the organizational structure simpler.
From the Shanghai Auto Show to the first quarter results meeting, every public appearance of He Xiaopeng this year has been like a child who is correcting his mistakes and being supervised, and his speech is to report on the company's organizational structure adjustment and marketing strategy reform process.
In the interview session after the press conference, He Xiaopeng said frankly, "Our organizational change has only carried out the first part, and there are also the second and third parts, and I think each step will take a year." ”
From the G9 defeat, He Xiaopeng was asked too many stories along the way, he always refused to answer, just laughed "I dare not tell."
Not only "dare not talk about the past", He Xiaopeng is also silent about the future, he said, "Xpeng's future market layout plan and rhythm are there, but we can't tell everyone, but our confidence is very sufficient." ”
In He Xiaopeng's eyes, automobiles are a long-term development industry, "next year and the year after that there will be a lot of new cars and facelifted cars, and after a year, a year and a half, you can see the story of ups and downs."
It was a "communication meeting where nothing can be said except the product." Obviously, He Xiaopeng is not ready to fully deal with it.