XPeng to launch models on two new platforms in 2023

XPeng will take the championship by first quarter deliveries of this year among China’s automobile startups, as its quarterly outlook is far ahead of others. In 2023, the automaker will launch another two new models based on new platforms, the automaker revealed on Monday at its 2021 earnings call.

From late February to earlier March, XPeng’s new orders have returned to the crest level of last December, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng, said at the earnings call. And the market demand for XPeng’s products continues to outpace production. Last December, the automaker delivered 16,000 vehicles.

In the first quarter of this year, XPeng aims to deliver 33,500 vehicles at least and 34,000 vehicles at most, surpassing NIO (quarterly deliveries expected to range from 25,000 units to 26,000 units) and Li Auto (quarterly deliveries expected to range from 30,000 units to 32,000 units).

Even though sporadic COVID-19 cases affected vehicle deliveries of some China's cities, XPeng's March deliveries will still be close to the peak of last year. Based on the deliveries of the first two months, its monthly deliveries are expected to range from 14,353 to 14,853 units in March, expected to outsell Li Auto (monthly deliveries expected to range from 9,318 to 11,318 units) and NIO (monthly deliveries expected to range from 9,217 to 10,217 units).

To maintain the stability of the supply chain, XPeng has developed and validated hundreds of alternative solutions in 2021. For this year, the industry will continue to be confronted with automotive chip supply shortage and rising raw material prices, He Xiaopeng said. The automaker will join hands with suppliers to overcome supply difficulties.

Photo credit: XPeng

By models, the P7 smart sports sedan targets monthly deliveries of over 10,000 units this year. In 2021, the annual deliveries of the sedan exceeded 60,000 units, the highest among all battery electric vehicle models from all local automobile startups. The P5’s monthly deliveries will also be likely to approximate those of the P7 in the second half of this year when the supply chain issues are expected to be alleviated and its City Navigation Guided Pilot will be launched.

The G9 will be another blockbuster product after the P7, according to He Xiaopeng. The production trial sample vehicle of the new model has rolled off production line and sales of the model are due to commence in the third quarter. As the first production model based on the 800V high-voltage SiC platform, the G9 can offer 200km of range with 5 minutes of charging.

Photo credit: XPeng

Besides, the G9, which boasts XPeng’s X-Pilot 4.0 ADAS, will help the automaker to compete in the segment with higher prices, ultimately improving the company’s gross margin, which will be increased to over 25% for the intermediate and long term.

To achieve the margin target, system platformization will be of great significance in pushing the transformation in powertrain system, manufacturing, and BOM system. Thus, XPeng plans to launch another two new platforms in 2023, one for the C-segment and the other for the B-segment, which can help to enlarge consumer base.

Meanwhile, the first model built on the said two platforms will be unveiled next year. New platforms are expected to inherit and carry forward XPeng’s capability in designing, electrification and intelligent driving.

According to executives of XPeng, the company will complete the technology development of its City Navigation Guided Pilot (CNGP), the core function of XPILOT3.5, in the second quarter of this year and push the OTA of CNGP at the end of the quarter after receiving approval from relevant authorities. 

On the mass produced P5, the human driver intervention rate of CNGP starts to approximate that of highway NGP, and the comprehensive experience can compete against leading robotaxi players in China, and perform even better than the rivals in certain fields.

Photo credit: XPeng

“Our objective for CNGP is to achieve superior safety and user experience in complex urban driving scenarios. The upcoming OTA of CNGP will further strengthen our technology leadership and it will mark another major milestone on our journey toward achieving full- scenario autonomous driving for our customers,” He Xiaopeng concluded.

In 2023, the automaker will officially launch the XPILOT4.0 to realize full-scenario intelligent assisted driving for highway and urban scenarios. By that year, the automaker will have at least four models equipped with the XPILOT4.0, which will offer higher-level safety and better interaction and driving experience.