He Xiaopeng doesn't want to leave the poker table.

A 100,000-word article: The Unyielding Small Xpeng in the New Energy Vehicle Industry

Author: Chai Xuchen

Editor: Zhang Xiaoling

Since last year, the rising star in the new energy vehicle industry, Xpeng Motors, has experienced a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, from the failure of the G9 model and declining sales to partnering with Volkswagen and launching an anti-corruption campaign. The series of adjustments and changes have been dazzling.

Behind these intense and frequent changes, Xpeng is perhaps one of the new players in the industry that is most determined not to be eliminated from the competition and to stay in the game.

In the midst of the booming new energy vehicle market, Xpeng must establish its own competitive edge. He Xiaopeng has always placed his bets on technology, specifically "technology-driven cost reduction".

On October 24th, during Xpeng's 5th Tech Day, He Xiaopeng, the chairman of Xpeng, confidently showcased his trump cards as the brand with the most prominent technological label in the automotive industry.

From upgraded autonomous driving technology, flying cars, and intelligent robots to the flagship MPV X9 with hidden surprises, Xpeng's chips and strategies for the final round of the competition in the coming years were all revealed. They carry the responsibility of Xpeng's rebirth and demonstrate the indomitable spirit of this Chinese new player.

He Xiaopeng believes that Xpeng Motors will be one of the few new energy vehicle companies that will survive in the end.

Killer Autonomous Driving Technology

During his 5-minute opening speech, He Xiaopeng focused on describing autonomous driving technology.

In early August, when He Xiaopeng personally sent Wu Xinzhou to Nvidia, the biggest concern was whether Xpeng's autonomous driving technology, which is the foundation of the company's existence in the automotive industry, would collapse without its key figure.

Autonomous driving technology is crucial for Xpeng's ability to withstand attacks from competitors and maintain the popularity of models like the G6/G9 and the upcoming X9. This year's 1024 event not only unveiled Xpeng's plan for expanding into new cities, but also showcased a series of ammunition, including the AI big model, cost reduction, and more.

"The battle without visuals has ended." Taking over from Wu Xinzhou, Li Liyun made his debut on stage with full force, stating that Xpeng's XNGP system now has the technical capability to support autonomous driving in cities nationwide. This is thanks to XBrain, the "ultimate architecture" for full-scenario autonomous driving, similar to Tesla's FSD12.

XBrain has shown remarkable results. According to Li Liyun, the speed of Xpeng's expansion has increased 20 times compared to before, and the cost has been reduced to 1/10 of the previous level. Li Liyun stated that the next goal is to achieve nationwide coverage of XNGP in China next year and expand into the global market. The final step is to develop lightweight radar technology to achieve even greater cost reduction.

If Li Liyun's promises can be fulfilled, Xpeng will have more confidence to compete with giants like Huawei and Tesla in the era of autonomous driving.

In a post-event interview, Li Liyun candidly stated to Wall Street Journal, "Now, our XNGP system can be used nationwide, and in essence, all roads can be driven on." However, he also emphasized the need to consider safety and the weight of regional road conditions.And when asked how to deal with Huawei's aggressive open city plan, He Xiaopeng jokingly said, "In an industry, when the top two players compete, the third and fourth players usually lose." He believes that Xiaopeng and Huawei are cooperating in this battle, "We have someone responsible for attracting attention, and someone responsible for winning customers."

It can be said that He Xiaopeng and Li Liyun's efforts tonight are to endorse smart driving and give investors and consumers peace of mind.

With the support of XBrain, Xiaopeng's smart driving will soon be tested on the new flagship MPV model X9. This X9 can be said to be a model for Xiaopeng's "technology cost reduction" this time, and it also bears the responsibility of pushing up.

He Xiaopeng said that the X9 will inherit the core technology of the Fei Yao architecture, equipped with weapons such as universal 800V, integrated die-casting, and XNGP. The key point is that the X9 will also be equipped with rear-wheel steering as standard for MPVs, greatly enhancing flexibility and even becoming as easy to drive as an SUV.

When Ideal, Tengshi, Jike, and Great Wall are all targeting affluent families and launching high-end MPVs, Xiaopeng's strategy to open up the situation is to develop the "youthful" MPV market. In other words, it relies on "technology + cost-effectiveness" to increase volume.

Now with the "light radar" XNGP, the X9 has taken the lead in canceling two forward-looking corner radars, ensuring that the intelligent driving capability is not reduced under the premise of halving the comprehensive cost. At the same time, the "XOS Tianji" smart cabin that the X9 will debut also achieves a 40% cost reduction.

The market has already felt that since the Waterloo of G9 last year, He Xiaopeng's dream of a "high-end flagship" has not been extinguished, but has changed its carrier.

Insiders close to Xiaopeng revealed that the price of the X9 will be around 400,000 yuan. With the support of new technology configurations, larger dimensions, and comfort, the X9 is another attempt by Xiaopeng to occupy the 400,000 yuan segment market, which G9 wanted to do but failed.

Betting on the future

As a car company with a prominent technology label, Xiaopeng's focus and layout on technology are not only focused on the present but also bet on the future. At this technology day, Xiaopeng also launched a mass-produced flying car and a bipedal robot.

"I believe that when I am old, robots can play cards with me and help me change diapers." Regarding building robots, He Xiaopeng believes that it is the same path as building cars and developing smart driving.

"The future of car companies is AI cars, with autonomous driving as the first step. AI cars and robots have many technological capabilities in common," and in the future, Xiaopeng's robots will integrate technologies related to cars, such as XNGP, XPower, and Lingxi's large model.

It is worth mentioning that Musk has also commented on his own robot, Optimus, saying, "In the future, it will be more important and more valuable than the car business."

However, Dongwu Securities pointed out that if humanoid robots cannot be sold at an acceptable price in the market, they are just laboratory products. Only when the application scenarios are clear and driven by cost reduction, do they have commercial potential.

In comparison, the progress of flying cars is faster. He Xiaopeng, who started building flying cars 10 years ago, clarified two development paths at 1024 this year-land-air integration and split-type flying cars.It is worth noting that Xiaopeng's flying car is no longer just a "PPT" (PowerPoint presentation). He Xiaopeng stated that the first mass-produced model will be a split-type flying car. The next generation of "amphibious" flying cars is currently in the research and development stage and is expected to be mass-produced in the next 2-3 years.

After the meeting, He Xiaopeng revealed to Wall Street News, "We expect to start preparing for the final work of flying cars (before mass production) in the near future. In fact, flying cars have many systems that are co-developed with Xiaopeng, and we will do better in terms of quality and cost."

However, Xiaopeng still faces doubts from the market about his focus. He Xiaopeng frankly said, "This is basically the result of the team's efforts. If I had focused more, I might have been able to do it faster."

Insiders close to Xiaopeng revealed to Wall Street News that Xiaopeng Huitian, which is responsible for the research and production of flying cars, is an independent company and is not consolidated with Xiaopeng. It has always been independently financed and will go public in the future. The core task of Xiaopeng Huitian at present is to bring the product to the market, as a considerable amount has already been invested and it is not easy to stop abruptly.

As for the robot project, it is managed by Xiaopeng Pengxing (XProbot). Although Xiaopeng acquired it for $100 million at the end of September and brought it back under the Xiaopeng system, Xiaopeng stated, "Compared with car manufacturing, the robot project is not large in scale. It is more about embedding technology into car development."

According to the previous acquisition announcement, Xiaopeng Pengxing had a post-tax loss of 103 million yuan and 282 million yuan in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Compared with the parent company's loss of over 26 billion yuan last year, this is negligible.

After this "turbulent" year, what He Xiaopeng wants to convey at this year's 1024 event is that Xiaopeng is still constantly adjusting its posture and has not lost its "trump card" in technology.

From a management perspective, with the assistance of Wang Fengying, Xiaopeng is also quickly discovering and repairing the gap between itself and traditional mature automakers.

In the first nine months, Xiaopeng delivered 81,000 vehicles, with deliveries returning to the ten thousand mark in July and surpassing 15,000 in September. With the launch of new models such as the G6, new G9, and X9 equipped with intelligent driving, Xiaopeng intends to quickly increase sales and stage a real comeback.

In He Xiaopeng's mind, with the refinement of core technology, cost reduction, and the collaboration with Volkswagen and Didi, the next step is to unleash Xiaopeng's energy.

However, in the new round of industry elimination and consolidation, He Xiaopeng's wishes must be quickly realized in order to truly climb out of the turbulence, stand firm, and secure a place in the endgame.