Today, Xiaopeng Motors announced in a notice on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company’s CEO, He Xiaopeng, has increased his holdings in Xiaopeng Motors, raising his shareholding ratio to 18.8%.
The contents of the announcement show that the controlling shareholder, He Xiaopeng, purchased a total of 1 million Class A ordinary shares of the company in the open market from August 21, 2024 to August 23, 2024, at an average price of HK$27.13 per Class A ordinary share, approximately HK$27 million. And through Galaxy Dynasty Limited, which he wholly owns, he purchased a total of 1.4199 million American Depositary Shares of the company, at an average price of US$7.02 per American Depositary Share, approximately US$9.97 million. This increase in holdings totals approximately HK$107 million. In addition, the announcement also stated that He Xiaopeng plans to continue increasing his holdings in Xiaopeng Motors at an appropriate time in the future.
Regarding He Xiaopeng’s increase in holdings, the official stated that He Xiaopeng’s actions demonstrate his confidence in the prospects and growth potential of Xiaopeng Motors. Affected by this, Xiaopeng Motors’ Hong Kong stocks rose sharply by 7% today.
In fact, since last year, the sales volume of Xiaopeng Motors has lagged behind other leading new energy vehicle manufacturers. Relevant data shows that in 2023, Xiaopeng Motors’ cumulative sales volume was 141,601 vehicles. Compared with Li Auto, a leading new energy vehicle manufacturer, there is a certain gap. For reference, Li Auto’s cumulative sales volume for the entire year of 2023 was 376,030 vehicles. Entering 2024, Xiaopeng Motors’ sales growth is still limited. The latest sales volume in July was 11,145 vehicles, and the cumulative sales volume from January to July was 63,173 vehicles, significantly lagging behind other new energy vehicle brands.
The sales growth is slow, and losses continue. On August 20, Xiaopeng Motors announced the latest financial report for the first half of this year. The data shows that Xiaopeng Motors achieved revenue of 14.66 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 61.2% year-on-year; the gross profit margin was 13.5%, compared to -1.4% in the same period last year; the net profit attributable to shareholders was -2.65 billion yuan, compared to a net loss of 5.14 billion yuan in the same period last year. Although the losses have narrowed, it still has not escaped the situation of losses.
For this reason, the official also pins its hopes on the Xiaopeng MONA M03 model. On July 3, the Xiaopeng MONA M03 was officially released. As the first model of the MONA series, it will enter the 100,000 – 150,000 yuan market. The new car will be officially listed tomorrow and delivered in the third quarter.
Regarding the arrival of the new car, He Xiaopeng said: Starting from the listing of the MONA M03 in August, it has entered a strong product cycle and a period of rapid development. From now until the end of 2026, there will be several highly competitive new products and models listed intensively. Subsequently, it will be sold in the Chinese and global markets through a stronger marketing system, bringing sustainable growth in sales for Xiaopeng Motors. Regarding the expectations for the third quarter, the official expects the total vehicle deliveries to be between 41,000 and 45,000 units, an increase of 2.5% to 12.5% year-on-year; the total revenue will be between 9.1 billion yuan and 9.8 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7% to 14.9% year-on-year.
It is not difficult to see that the Xiaopeng MONA M03 is regarded as a key model for Xiaopeng Motors to reverse its sales volume. In terms of price, the Xiaopeng MONA M03 is staggered from the prices of the existing Xiaopeng Motors models and is the lowest-priced model of Xiaopeng Motors, with the price dropping to less than 150,000 yuan. Such a price positioning may bring a certain increase in sales for Xiaopeng Motors, but at the same time, most of the market share in the 100,000 – 150,000 yuan range is occupied by models such as BYD. Whether the Xiaopeng MONA M03 can become a blockbuster model remains to be verified over time.
Returning to He Xiaopeng’s increase in holdings this time can also be seen as an optimistic view of the company’s future prospects and a further injection of a stabilizing agent for the company’s shareholders and employees. Whether Xiaopeng Motors can break out of the sales predicament in the future is still unknown at present. According to the official plan, the annual sales target for this year is set at 280,000 units, and only 22.5% of the annual target sales has been completed so far. Judging from Xiaopeng Motors’ current sales volume, achieving the annual sales target will also face certain challenges.