China is returning to work following a break to celebrate the 2024 Lunar New Year, and XPeng Motors looks to hit the ground running with massive expansion plans. According to an internal letter, XPeng Chairman CEO He Xiaopeng detailed plans to deliver about 30 new and updated EV models over the next three years, bridging the price gap between $14,000 and $56,000 vehicles in China.
XPeng Motors ($XPEV) is a Chinese EV brand celebrating ten years in this business in 2024. In that relatively short time, the automaker has climbed the ranks as one of the top EV developers in China, competing against NIO and current market leader, BYD.
Like its competitors, XPeng has expanded to new markets in Europe over the past few years while simultaneously bolstering its EV lineup in China with new models like the G9 and, most recently, the X9 multi-purpose vehicle.
While XPeng’s advanced air mobility (AAM) AeroHT works to deliver genuine flying cars to the masses, its parent company remains focused on delivering more and more new EVs in China and beyond… just not the US anytime soon.
Still, XPeng Motors continues to gain momentum as an EV contender and appears to be planning an onslaught of new models in its three-year pipeline.
XPeng is planning a slew of new and updated EVs
According to an internal letter from XPeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng, obtained by CnEVPost, 2024 will be the year the Chinese automaker breaks out on the wings of a bolstered product and technology platform.
The letter states that XPeng is planning approximately 30 new or refreshed EV models over the next three years – a massively ambitious rollout for any OEM, let alone one focused explicitly on nascent EV technology – a segment that has not come anywhere near approaching its tremendous potential yet.
XPeng’s previously mentioned platforms will power two initial EVs targeting prices in the RMB 150,000 ($21,000) price range, as well as RMB 300,000 ($42,150), thus bridging a previously vacant price gap for XPeng in China, offering consumers new EVs in every class, from RMB 100,000 ($14,0000), all the way up to RMB 400,000. ($56,200).
According to Xiaopeng, the reasoning behind the ambitious expansion is to compete in a Chinese EV industry that is becoming more and more intense, stating that 2024 will go down as a “sea of blood” competition amongst local automakers, kicking off the segment’s first “elimination round.”
To support its development goals for the next three years, XPeng says it will conduct about 4,000 new hires and enrich its research and development budget by over 40% YOY to “fight for tomorrow.” While many OEMs in China and beyond (US included) are backtracking on EV development targets, XPeng’s CEO sees a window of opportunity to capitalize and will push ahead harder and faster than before:
We will go forward in 2024 and enter a high-speed positive cycle in the fourth quarter or a little earlier.
Starting this month, we will make the company more successful with a more advanced and efficient full-process system based on the new XPeng Product Development (XPD) system, which is the full lifecycle product development management system V1.0 with XPeng features
Looking ahead, smart driving technology will remain a key focus for XPeng throughout its new EVs, and the automaker plans to invest RMB 3.5 billion (~$492M) in 2024 alone toward the R&D of artificial intelligence to support those ADAS functions. This year also marks XPeng’s new strategy of merging marketing of its cars, internet, and phones into one holistic system to ensure the company is recognized as “one of the undisputed first-tier players in the industry.”
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