On February 18, the first work day of the Year of the Dragon, XPeng Motors CEO He Xiaopeng sent a letter to all employees.
He Xiaopeng said that 2023 is a year of ‘bottoming out and rising’ for XPeng Motors, with ‘special adjustments in organization, planning, business, operations, and efficiency. It has gone through a lot of pain but also achieved great gains.’
Last year, XPeng received a $700 million investment from Volkswagen Group and reached a cooperation agreement with Didi. They released the first model G6 under the Fuyao architecture, as well as updated products P7i, P5, and G9. They also pre-released the electric MPV X9. XPeng‘s annual sales were approximately 142,000 units, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year but lower than NIO‘s 160,000 units and Li Auto‘s 376,000 units. In terms of operations, XPeng has not escaped from financial losses; by the end of the third quarter last year, XPeng had a net loss of about 3.89 billion yuan with a gross profit margin of -2.7%.
2024 is the tenth year of XPeng Motors’ establishment. He Xiaopeng’s goal is, ‘Performance needs to more than double, the organization needs to fill all gaps, and operations need to take the first step towards high quality.’
XPeng Motors’ sales target for 2024 is 280,000 units, doubling from last year. However, compared to other car companies, this target is not aggressive. Li Auto‘s target for 2024 is 800,000 units, and Leapmotor’s is 300,000-4000 units.
He Xiaopeng believes that 2024 is the first year for Chinese car brands to enter the ‘blood sea’ competition and also the first year of elimination matches. XPeng Motors has been fighting fiercely in the competition from the beginning, accumulating a lot of experience. He believes that ‘persistence will surely lead to victory’.
In April last year, XPeng released the Fuyao architecture, compatible with the E, F, and H platforms, as well as the ‘future new R&D platform.’ Currently, XPeng P7 and G9 are based on the E platform, X9 is based on the H platform, and P5 and G3 are first-generation D platform products.
He Xiaopeng previously stated that through platformization, XPeng has shortened the new vehicle development cycle by 20%, with the highest commonality rate of components reaching 80%.
In 2024, He Xiaopeng stated that XPeng will ‘launch the first vehicle on each platform’ in the 300,000+ and 150,000-level platforms.
The first car of the 150,000-level platform is the first car of the brand ‘MONA’ co-produced by XPeng and Didi.
According to He Xiaopeng, XPeng will use the Fuyao architecture containing XNGP (full-scene intelligent assisted driving) and X-EEA3.0 electronic electrical architecture technologies to transform MONA. This car is mainly targeted at ordinary consumers, and then it will be aimed at ride-hailing markets such as Didi. His ‘conservative expectation’ for the MONA brand is over 100,000 units in a year.
The first car of the 300,000-level platform, codenamed ‘F57’, will be launched in the second half of this year.
In the sedan market, XPeng was the first to launch two products, P5 and P7. Among them, XPeng‘s P7 once had monthly sales exceeding 9000 units, but according to Jelanglu, in December last year, only 3541 units of P7 were sold. XPeng needs a new product to take over from P7 and tap into a larger sedan market. The ‘F57’ continues the design route of XPeng‘s P7i, with an internal target monthly sales goal for ‘F57’ set at over 5000 units.
In order to achieve sales targets, He Xiaopeng revealed that in the next 3 years, XPeng plans to launch about 30 new models or redesigned models; will invest more manpower by recruiting about 4000 people; and allocate over 40% of the research and development budget.
SEE ALSO: Volkswagen and XPeng Motors to Jointly Develop New Electric Vehicles for Chinese Market
Let capable officers lead the troops into battle.
Under the reform led by founder He Xiaopeng and president Wang Fengying, XPeng underwent frequent organizational changes last year, with personnel changes in the sales system, automotive powertrain center, design center, autonomous driving center, and procurement department’s ‘top position’.
In 2024, He Xiaopeng said that after the senior management adjustment, XPeng will establish a middle-level cadre structure. He put forward three requirements for cadre training.
Seek truth from facts. Cadres must penetrate multiple layers to understand the actual situation, go deep into the front line to listen to gunfire, promote the implementation of company’s strategic strategies at the grassroots level, and ensure that both effectiveness and efficiency can overcome opponents.
Overall coordination, “cadres should be guided by internal and external customer experience, take the lead in breaking down departmental barriers, demolishing tall chimneys, not sacrificing upstream and downstream interests for single-point benefits, nor pursuing superficial harmony.
Grow into a ‘manager’, ‘drive business growth with a managerial mindset’.
Internationally, in 2024, XPeng will layout core markets in Europe, ASEAN, the Middle East, Latin America, Oceania and other regions to deepen the intelligent advantages of its products and strengthen the localization adaptation of its products (including left-hand drive and right-hand drive).
‘Faced with the pessimistic macroeconomic situation, many friendly businesses are contracting and hesitant to invest. I think this is actually an opportunity for our development,’ He Xiaopeng said. He advocates for a more comprehensive and in-depth approach to business operations, cutting unnecessary expenses, investing more valuable money in people, research and development, and strategy to achieve better profits in business.
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