Category: China

New batch of 867 new Tesla Model S and Model X imported to China

Six imported units of the new Model S and Model X arrived at Yangshan Port in Shanghai on February 28.

Tesla is sending more of the new Model S and Model X to China, as deliveries of the two more expensive models here get closer.

The latest shipment of 867 new Tesla Model S and Model X electric vehicles (EVs) arrived in Tianjin recently, according to a Weibo post by the Tianjin Port Group yesterday.

The vehicles came from San Francisco and arrived at the Tianjin Global Ro-Ro terminal on the ro-ro vessel Asia Beauty, according to the Weibo post.

The Weibo said these are the first imports of the new Tesla Model S and Model X into China, but it's worth noting that several of these Tesla models were already imported into China late last month.

On February 28, six imported Tesla pure electric vehicles, drove out of the containers at the Nangang terminal in Shanghai Yangshan Port to be inspected on site by customs officers, according to a previous report by Shanghai Securities News.

This is the first batch of the new Tesla Model S Plaid vehicles imported into China by sea since they were launched, according to the report by Shanghai Securities News.

Tesla unveiled the Model S Plaid in the US in September 2020 with three motors that can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 1.99 seconds. The company's CEO Elon Musk called it the fastest production car ever built.

In early June 2021, Tesla began deliveries of the model in the US and eliminated the more capable Plaid + model.

Musk said in late 2021 that the Model S Plaid could come to China around March 2022. However, that didn't become a reality.

On January 6, Tesla announced the prices of the new Model S and Model X in China, which are not produced locally, while significantly lowering the prices of the Model 3 and Model Y produced in China.

The Model S is available in China in two versions, a regular version with dual motors and all-wheel drive, and a Plaid version with tri motors and all-wheel drive, starting at RMB 789,900 ($114,620) and RMB 1,009,900 respectively.

The Model X is also available in China in two versions, the regular version with two-motor all-wheel drive and the Plaid version with tri-motor all-wheel drive, starting at RMB 879,900 and RMB 1,039,900, respectively.

Currently, the official website of Tesla China shows the expected delivery date for all versions of Model S and Model X in China in the second quarter.

Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that produces the Model 3 and Model Y. It sold 74,402 China-made vehicles in February, including 40,479 vehicles exported and 33,923 vehicles delivered in China, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Tesla's deliveries in China in February included 25,526 Model Ys and 8,397 Model 3s, according to the CPCA.

($1 = RMB 6.8915)

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XPeng finishes consolidating sales system to improve efficiency, report says

The management teams of 's direct sales channel and its authorized dealer channel have been combined to reduce unnecessary competition for interest from within, according to local media.

XPeng US | XPeng HK

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

XPeng's (NYSE: XPEV) organizational restructuring appears to be continuing, with the latest move completing a major reorganization of its sales system, according to a new report.

XPeng's sales system has recently completed changes in its internal management structure, with the management teams of its direct sales channel as well as its authorized dealer channel being merged, according to a report by local media outlet Jiemian.

The company is one of the rare new Chinese carmakers to have both a direct and dealership system. This approach helped XPeng rapidly expand its number of stores and reduce the cost of building them in the early stages of its development, Jiemian's report noted.

As of the third quarter of last year, XPeng had more than 400 stores, of which about 70 percent were directly operated by the company and 30 percent were authorized dealers. As a comparison, and 's latest store counts were 296 and 387, respectively, according to the report.

However, these two sales channels of XPeng are managed by different teams and thus have the problem of competing for each other's interests.

XPeng's directly managed stores are under XPeng Auto Trading, headed by co-founder He Tao. Its authorized dealers are managed by the UDS (User Development Service Center) team, headed by chief talent officer and vice president of sales Liao Qinghong.

A previous report by local media 36kr mentioned that at the height of competition between these two teams, XPeng's direct system received a fund, one of the invisible uses of which was to find problems with the authorized dealer system.

Disruptions in the sales network were one of the reasons for XPeng's poor sales performance last year, Jiemian's report noted.

XPeng sold 120,757 vehicles in 2022, meeting only 48.3 percent of its full-year sales target, according to the report.

Starting in January, XPeng began integrating the two different sales systems, a process that was recently completed, Jiemian's report said, citing a source familiar with the matter.

On January 30, XPeng announced that Wang Fengying, formerly president of Great Wall Motor, has been named president of the company.

Ms. Wang will be responsible for XPeng's product planning, portfolio management and sales operations, reporting to the company's chairman and chief executive officer, He Xiaopeng, XPeng said at the time.

After heading sales, Ms. Wang removed XPeng's original big region system and redefined more than 20 sales districts, with direct stores and authorized dealers in each district managed by a single head, according to Jiemian.

The unified management of Xpen'sg directly managed stores and authorized dealers will be able to avoid competition between the two and help reduce the impact on consumers, the source said.

XPeng earnings preview: Q4 to be soft with promotions hitting margins

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CATL to reach new price agreement with automakers as soon as end of Mar, report says

The price of lithium, a raw material for batteries, has accelerated its decline, with industrial-grade lithium carbonate falling RMB 7,500 per ton to RMB 302,500 per ton today.

New price agreements between Chinese power battery giant and some local automakers are expected to be reached this month, at a time when battery raw material prices continue to fall.

CATL's lithium rebate policy is progressing steadily, and it is now at the practical stage of signing agreements with some car companies, local media Cailian said today, citing sources close to the battery maker.

These agreements are expected to be reached by the end of this month at the earliest, the source said.

CATL's plan was first reported on February 17 by local media outlet 36kr, which said it is not aimed at all customers, but rather at several strategic customers, including (NYSE: NIO), (NASDAQ: LI), and .

The core terms of the partnership include that CATL will settle a portion of the price of power battery supply with car companies at a rate of RMB 200,000 ($28,970) per ton of lithium carbonate for the next three years.

At the same time, car companies signing the partnership will be required to commit about 80 percent of their battery purchases to CATL, according to the report.

CATL management first acknowledged the move during the company's earnings call on March 9.

CATL's lithium sharing plan is not for the purpose of lowering prices, but rather the company already has some mineral resources and does not want to reap windfall profits, its management said.

CATL wants to be able to share with long-term strategic customers and is moving forward with communications to that end, the company said.

Prior to that, Li Auto and NIO both said that they had ongoing discussions with CATL when asked about the topic in their respective earnings calls.

CATL's move comes as lithium carbonate has been falling for months.

Today's quotes for industrial-grade lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium carbonate in China were both down RMB 7,500 per ton, with the latest average prices at RMB302,500 per ton and RMB 340,000 per ton, respectively, according to My Steel.

($1 = RMB 6.9040)

CATL confirms it's negotiating new prices with EV makers

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XPeng earnings preview: Q4 to be soft with promotions hitting margins

"We expect generally soft results and a weak 1Q23 outlook due to challenging demand and pricing dynamics," Edison Yu's team said.

US | XPeng HK

XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) will report fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, and as usual, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu's team provided their preview.

"We expect generally soft results and a weak 1Q23 outlook due to challenging demand and pricing dynamics," the team said in a research report sent to investors yesterday.

Soft fourth-quarter

XPeng will report its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 on Friday, March 17, before the US markets open.

It delivered 22,204 vehicles in the fourth quarter, above the upper end of the guidance range of 20,000 to 21,000, but down 46.82 percent year-on-year and down 24.91 percent from the third quarter.

XPeng's previous revenue guidance for the fourth quarter was RMB 4.8 billion to RMB 5.1 billion, representing a year-on-year decrease of about 40.4 percent to 43.9 percent.

"We expect a soft quarter with deliveries already reported at 22,204, above management's guidance range (20,000-21,000), but with promotional activity hitting margins," Yu's team wrote.

The team expects XPeng to post revenue of RMB 5.4 billion yuan and a gross margin of 11.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

They expect XPeng's vehicle margin to be 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter, down 3.1 percentage points from the third quarter, and adjusted earnings per share of RMB -2.33.

The current analyst consensus in the Bloomberg survey is for revenue of RMB 5.7 billion, gross margin of 12.1 percent and adjusted EPS of RMB -2.25.

For the first quarter, Yu's team expects deliveries to be around 19,000-20,000 units and for gross margin to drop to single digits as price cuts take hold.

XPeng deliveries in January and February were 5,218 and 6,010 units respectively, for a cumulative total of 11,228 units. Insurance registration figures for the past two weeks suggest that the company did not see a significant improvement in deliveries in March.

Uncertainty in 2023

The key to XPeng's relevance going forward is to win back market share, and that could take several quarters to achieve, which has created significant uncertainty this year, Yu's team said.

Demand for the company's flagship SUV, the G9, has clearly been disappointing, despite mostly positive reviews, the team said, adding that they expect XPeng to potentially make pricing or SKU adjustments to the SUV in the coming months.

XPeng's new P7i sedan should help with order volume, but there won't be materially beneficial until the second quarter, the team said.

Most importantly, XPeng's upcoming Model Y competitor, the G6, needs to reach at least 5,000 units per month by the end of the year to be considered a success, the team said.

The team now expects XPeng to be on track to deliver 145,000 vehicles in 2023, a 10,000-unit downward revision from earlier, taking into account the decline in G9 sales.

How can capacity utilization be improved?

If XPeng's sales continue to be weak, its management may need to get creative to improve its capacity utilization, Yu's team said, adding that the easiest way to do that would be to sign some large fleet deals.

That may be hard in China, considering and GAC have stronger positions in the taxi and ride-sharing segment, but XPeng recently signed deals with some local car rental companies to buy its P7 sedan, the team noted.

XPeng entered into a strategic partnership with local car rental company eHi Car Services on July 19, 2022, and delivered the first few hundred cars to the latter.

On January 9 this year, XPeng signed agreements with car rental company China Auto Rental and 's travel service platform Xiaolinggou Travel Technology, and completed the delivery of the first XPeng P7 vehicles in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

In addition, XPeng has restarted its expansion efforts in Europe, where large fleet deals could make sense due to the region's high percentage of corporate fleets and low availability of cheap BEV options, Yu's team said.

"We note BYD has an agreement with SIXT for 100,000 EVs and XPeng's vehicles fall into a similar price point. BYD also just announced a 5,000 unit agreement with UK's Octopus EV," the team wrote.

Another option is to partner more deeply with traditional OEMs on EVs and robotaxis, which could come in the form of equity investments or strategic alliances, according to the team.

XPeng offering discounts to clear P7 inventory, facelift to launch next week, report says

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More Chinese EV makers promise no price cuts as price war intensifies consumer wait-and-see sentiment

EV makers including , and Denza have all introduced 90-day price protection policies.

(Image credit: Neta)

As the auto price war in China continues, some electric vehicle (EV) makers are beginning to make it clear that they will not cut prices in an attempt to dispel the wait-and-see sentiment of potential consumers.

EV makers including Leapmotor, Neta and Denza have all introduced price protection policies, after (NASDAQ: LI) introduced a similar policy and (NYSE: NIO) made it clear that the company would not cut prices.

Leapmotor announced yesterday that for consumers who purchase any of its models during this month, they will get the difference back if the price drops within 90 days or if the company offers additional cash discounts.

This is in line with a policy introduced earlier this week by Li Auto, whose salespeople said it was designed to make clear to consumers that its models would not be reduced in price.

Neta, Hozon Auto's EV brand, announced today that consumers who order its flagship sedan, the Neta S, by April 30 will not have to worry about the model's price dropping within 90 days.

If the price of the model drops within 90 days of the consumer's purchase, Neta will refund the difference.

Notably, along with the announcement of the price protection policy, Neta began offering an RMB 23,000 ($3,340) discount for the lowest-priced model of the Neta S, bringing the model's starting price down to RMB 179,800 from the previous RMB 202,800, valid until the end of April 30.

Neta models on sale also include the Neta V and Neta U, which start at less than RMB 150,000 and are not covered by its price protection policy.

Denza, 's premium brand, announced that if consumers who purchase its vehicles during the month see a drop in official guide prices will receive a rebate for the difference.

Auto and Volvo Car's jointly held Lynk & Co brand also began offering a 90-day price protection policy that expires on April 30.

The increasing number of car companies joining the price war has led to an increased wait-and-see mood among consumers to avoid seeing price cuts soon after purchasing a car.

An NIO executive said yesterday that they noticed Li Auto's move and the company had considered whether to issue a similar policy.

But for NIO, it has previously made it clear that prices will not be lowered, the company's assistant vice president of sales operations Pu Yang said at a media event yesterday, adding that NIO is not only not cutting prices for 90 days, but prices will not change for a longer period of time.

(1 $= RMB 6.8843)

NIO won't get involved in price war, exec says

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Li Auto survey shows Li L8 buyers mainly former German luxury car owners

Among the first owners of the Li L8, those who previously owned a BMW 3 Series were the highest, followed by those who owned a BMW 5 Series and an Audi A6.

US | Li Auto HK

(Image credit: Li Auto)

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is taking market share away from the German luxury car company, a survey by the company shows.

Among the first owners of the Li L8, those who previously owned a BMW 3 Series were the highest, followed by those who owned a BMW 5 Series, according to a survey of 303 first owners of the Li L8 released yesterday by Li Auto.

Among these Li L8 owners, the number of owners of the Audi A6 came in third, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class in fourth, the Audi A4 in fifth and the Audi Q5 in sixth.

Li Auto launched the Li L8, a six-seat mid to large-size SUV, on September 30, 2022, when it was offered in two versions, Pro as well as Max, with starting prices of RMB 359,800 ($52,300) and 399,800 respectively.

On February 8, Li Auto introduced a lower-priced Air version of the Li L8 with a starting price of RMB 339,800 when it launched the five-seat SUV Li L7.

Li Auto delivered 16,620 vehicles in February, up 9.77 percent from 15,141 in January and up 97.53 percent from 8,414 in the same month last year, data it released on March 1 showed.

The company did not release a breakdown of deliveries for these models, though data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) monitored by CnEVPost show that 8,192 units of the Li L8 were delivered in February, bringing the model's cumulative deliveries to 29,773 units since deliveries began last November.

As for the owners' reasons for replacing their old cars for the Li L8, most believe the model is suitable for family use. Targeting family consumers has always been the positioning of Li Auto.

Some said their original cars had problems including constant minor issues and high gas consumption, and some said the Li Auto offered simple car-buying options.

($1 = RMB 6.8801)

Li Auto to build charging stations at 'NIO pace', report says

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CATL, BAIC sign deal to jointly develop battery products

will participate in the vehicle development and production of BAIC-affiliated NEV companies, and provide power battery products and services.

(Image credit: CATL)

BAIC Group, which has lagged behind many of its local counterparts in the transition to electrification, appears to be stepping up its efforts.

CATL and BAIC signed a strategic cooperation agreement on March 13, in which they plan to jointly develop power battery products and tap into the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, according to a press release from the power battery giant yesterday.

CATL will participate in the vehicle development and production of BAIC-affiliated NEV companies and provide power battery products and services, according to the press release.

The two sides will build a close strategic partnership and cooperate fully in power batteries, the release said.

BAIC's efforts in the NEV market are mainly carried out by its subsidiary Beijing Electric Vehicle Co Ltd (BJEV), but its performance has been lukewarm.

BJEV sold 50,179 units for the full year 2022, up 92.06 percent from 26,127 units in 2021, but lags behind most Chinese electric vehicle startups, according to data released by its parent company BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co.

In the first two months of this year, BJEV sales were 4,812 units, up 42.16 percent from 3,385 units in the same period last year.

In August 2022, Bloomberg reported that smartphone giant Xiaomi was in talks with BAIC Group to collaborate on the production of electric vehicles, which could see vehicles built by BAIC BluePark and co-branded with .

BAIC Group later told local media that the company had "not heard of this."

That comes after BAIC BluePark announced on July 15 that it plans to raise up to 8 billion yuan ($1.16 billion) in additional shares to no more than 35 specific targets.

The stock offering is intended to increase the company's capital strength, as it continues to increase the size of its business and invest in product development amid the rapid growth of China's NEV industry, BAIC BluePark said at the time.

BAIC BluePark's share price has been weak over the past year and is currently down about 40 percent from its high last June.

($1 = RMB 6.8715)

Xiaomi reportedly in talks with BAIC to jointly build EVs

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