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Wencan aims to supply products from near NIO's plants by 2025, and the two companies will work together to arrange capacity expansion plans. | NIO US | NIO HK | NIO SG
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NIO (NYSE: NIO) has entered into a strategic partnership with yet another auto parts giant that will provide supply support near its plants.
One-piece die-casting parts supplier Wencan Group signed a five-year strategic cooperation framework agreement with NIO on March 26, according to an exchange announcement today from the Shanghai-listed company.
The two companies will collaborate on supply, low carbon, digitalization and globalization to achieve supply support around NIO's Hefei plants, according to the announcement.
Wencan and NIO will also collaborate in depth on lightweight research and development of integrated die-casting structural parts for the body and new material applications.
The two will also explore all-round cooperation in products including integrated battery boxes, core electric vehicle components and automotive chassis, according to the announcement.
Wencan aims to supply products near the NIO plants by 2025, and the two companies will work together to arrange capacity expansion plans, including investing in new production lines, or building new production sites, to ensure smooth production and delivery of NIO projects, the announcement said.
Wencan will also use its global presence to provide full support to NIO's international business and to provide full support to the electric vehicle company's global R&D and product validation, according to the announcement.
NIO will promote Wencan's casting business to its partners and will explore cooperation in other business areas, the announcement said.
The two will also cooperate deeply on business car purchases and employee car purchases.
Wencan is one of China's best-known suppliers of integrated die-casting parts and a core supplier of structural body parts to NIO, according to the team led by Cui Yan, an analyst at local brokerage firm Huaxi Securities.
Wencan's parts are used in NIO's entire lineup of models, and the average value of its parts used per NIO vehicle is more than RMB 3,000, Cui's team said in a March 17 research note.
Most automakers won't adopt Tesla's model of using one-piece die-casting machines on their own because it requires a large investment and the scale effect is less than that of third-party suppliers, the team said.
On October 26, 2022, Wencan announced plans to raise up to RMB 3.5 billion through a private placement, of which RMB 1 billion will be used to build a parts manufacturing project in Anhui province.
Wencan plans to build a plant in Lu'an, Anhui province, which will help better serve customers including NIO and BYD, Cui's team said.
The new agreement with Wencan is the second NIO has signed with the parts giant so far this month.
On March 16, Tesla's parts supplier Ningbo Tuopu Group announced that it had signed an agreement with NIO to establish a strategic partnership for the development, manufacture and supply of NEV parts and components.
One of the goals of the partnership between the two is for Ningbo Tuopu to provide parts supply near NIO's factories in Hefei, according to the announcement.
Tesla parts supplier Ningbo Tuopu signs cooperation deal with NIO
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XPeng's store traffic and test drives have reached new highs in recent months following the launch of the P7i, the company's management said earlier this month. | XPeng US | XPeng HK
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XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) has begun deliveries of the P7i in China, where the sedan was officially launched earlier this month.
XPeng recently began the first deliveries of the P7i, a facelift of its flagship P7 sedan, in seven cities, according to an article posted yesterday by the electric vehicle (EV) maker on its mobile app.
The seven cities are Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Chongqing, where XPeng held the P7i delivery ceremonies, according to the article.
XPeng did not disclose the number of P7i vehicles that were delivered in the first batch.
The P7i is the shortest time between the official launch and delivery of any XPeng model, as the company may be concerned that keeping consumers waiting too long could lead to lost orders.
XPeng officially launched the P7i in China on March 10, offering only four versions with a starting price of RMB 249,900 ($36,390).
The XPeng P7i continues to be built on the regular 400 V platform, rather than the 800 V high-voltage platform used by the G9.
However, the P7i's maximum charging power has been increased from its predecessor's 90 kW to 175 kW, and can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 29 minutes.
The Pro version of the XPeng P7i comes standard with an Nvidia Orin-X Smart Drive chip with 254 TOPS of computing power. The Max version of the model comes standard with two Orin-X chips as well as two LiDARs.
The P7i's predecessor, the P7, was the XPeng's main seller for a long time, selling 59,066 units in 2022, contributing 49 percent of the XPeng's annual sales of 120,757 units, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.
Following the launch of the P7i, XPeng's store traffic and test drives have reached new highs in recent months, He Xiaopeng, the company's chairman and CEO, said during a March 17 analyst call after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings.
The P7i has been well received by customers for its smart features, styling and performance, as well as its other clear advantages against similar products, he said.
Amid the market's prevailing weakness in new order intake, XPeng outperformed the market with a 100 percent increase in new orders in February compared to the previous month, Mr. He said.
With the strong momentum in orders following the official launch of the P7i, XPeng expects total new orders in March to grow significantly month-on-month, he said, adding that this marks the company's initial success following a comprehensive transformation, which has also boosted morale.
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