Got a peek at the Zeekr 009 - Geely's luxury electric MPV. Impressive specs, high-end tech, and bold design.
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Toyota Prius Prime lease undercuts that of cheaper Prius hybrid
If you choose to lease, the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid might cost significantly less to drive than the Prius hybrid—depending on where you live and which incentives Toyota might be factoring in. As partner site CarsDirect points out, the Toyota Prius Prime SE has a lease payment of just $435 a month, with $435 due at signing... XPeng Q1 earnings preview: Counting down to G6
XPeng's financial performance in the first quarter and its outlook for the second quarter will be weak, though the company may see a turnaround after the launch of G6, according to Edison Yu's team.
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XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) will report its unaudited financial results for the first quarter on May 24 before the US markets open. As usual, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu's team provided their preview.
XPeng's performance will be weak in the first quarter and the outlook for the second quarter is likely to be subdued, but a turnaround in the second half of this year may be in the cards after the launch of the new SUV G6, according to a research note sent to investors today.
First quarter earnings
Previously released data showed that XPeng delivered 18,230 vehicles in the first quarter, slightly above the lower end of the guidance range of 18,000 to 19,000 vehicles.
The company's previous revenue guidance for the first quarter was RMB 4 billion to RMB 4.2 billion, a decrease of about 43.7 percent to 46.3 percent year on year.
XPeng sales have been weak since the second half of last year, with deliveries of just 5,218 units in January. It rebounded to 7,079 units in April, essentially flat from March.
Yu's team expects XPeng to report revenue of RMB 4.04 billion and adjusted earnings per share of RMB -2.52 for the first quarter.
The team expects XPeng's gross margin to be 5.0 percent and vehicle margin to be 0.4 percent in the first quarter, or down 530 basis points sequentially, as price cuts and promotions hurt margins.
This compares to the current consensus analyst estimates of RMB 4.24 billion, 6.1 percent and RMB -2.09, respectively, in a Bloomberg survey.
Subdued second quarter
Yu's team believes that XPeng deliveries are likely to be subdued in the second quarter as the G9 has struggled to gain order flow and supply constraints have hampered P7i deliveries.
G9 sales have been below 1,000 units for the past three months, and a summer price cut is likely, the team said.
XPeng management has said that orders for the P7i have increased unexpectedly and will increase more meaningfully in June and beyond. As a result, Yu's team expects XPeng to guide for low-mid 20,000 range second-quarter deliveries.
Deliveries of the upcoming G6 will begin in late June and the model will not make a significant contribution in the second quarter, according to the team.
G6 is the swing factor
In the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on March 17, XPeng management said the G6 will be officially launched and delivered by the end of the second quarter, with a price range of RMB 200,000 ($28,590) to RMB 300,000.
XPeng's monthly sales target for the G6 is 2-3 times that of the P7, He Xiaopeng, the company's chairman and CEO, said during the call.
XPeng unveiled a new architecture called SEPA (Smart Electric Platform Architecture) 2.0 at a technology conference in Shanghai on April 16, saying the G6 will be the first model built on the architecture.
The architecture will shorten the development cycle of future models by 20 percent and optimize development efficiency significantly. Interchangeability and interoperability of common and modular components between new models will reach 80 percent, enabling XPeng to meet diverse customer needs at an optimized cost, it said at the time.
Yu's team believes that the G6 will need to be successful for XPeng to be truly relevant again in the marketplace.
On a relative basis, XPeng management sees the G6 selling 2-3 times as many units as the P7, which means at least more than 5,000 units per month, according to Yu's team.
"Our view is XPeng will price G6 below Model Y in hopes of attracting consumers with its sleeker design and newer interior," the team wrote.
With the increased production of the G6, XPeng management believes total monthly deliveries could reach 15,000 units at some point in the third quarter.
"This seems achievable and we model XPeng reaching this level in Sep with potentially some help from a midcycle P5 face-lift ('P5i')," the team said.
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Ford E-Tourneo Courier shows how versatile small EVs can be
Ford on Monday unveiled a versatile small EV that won't make it to the U.S, but could be a template for success in America. The Ford E-Tourneo Courier is a small van similar to (but even smaller than) the Transit Connect that was recently withdrawn from this market, but with an all-electric powertrain. It's scheduled to von on sale in Europe in... China NEV retail up 101% YoY in May 1-14, CPCA data show
As price wars fade and consumer wait-and-see sentiment eases, pent-up demand has been released, the CPCA said.
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Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China doubled in the first two weeks of May compared with the same period last year and also showed significant growth over the same period in April, although the Labor Day holiday at the beginning of the month may have brought some shock.
From May 1 to 14, China's retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 217,000 units, up 101 percent year-on-year and up 17 percent from the same period last month, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
So far this year, China's retail sales of new energy passenger cars were 2.06 million units, up 41 percent year-on-year.
From May 1 to 14, wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 193,000 units, up 69 percent year-on-year and up 13 percent from April, according to the CPCA.
So far this year, wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles are up 32 percent year-on-year to 2.11 million units.
In the first two weeks of May, retail sales of all passenger vehicles in China were up 55 percent to 706,000 units, up 24 percent from the same period last month, the CPCA said.
So far this year, retail sales of passenger cars in China were up 3 percent to 6.6 million units.
This means that the penetration of NEVs at retail in China was 30.73 percent in the first two weeks of May and 31.20 percent so far this year.
In the first week of May -- May 1-7 -- the average daily retail sales of passenger cars in China were 54,000 units, up 67 percent from the same period last year and up 46 percent from the same period in April.
In the second week of May -- May 8-14 -- average daily retail sales of passenger cars were 47,000 units, up 44 percent year-on-year and up 5 percent from the same period in April.
As price wars faded, dealers' mindsets stabilized and consumers returned to rational spending, the CPCA said, adding that this eased wait-and-see sentiment and released pent-up demand.
During the Labor Day holiday, some local governments and manufacturers provided temporary subsidies, which helped the auto market grow in early May, and new orders from the holiday are expected to be released gradually, the CPCA said. This year, China's Labor Day holiday was from April 29 to May 3.
CPCA weekly data: NEV retail sales for 1st 2 weeks of May at 217,000
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VW reportedly in talks to use Huawei software in its cars in China
Volkswagen is one of the top-selling car companies in China, but it is lagging behind local carmakers in the country's NEV market.
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Volkswagen has been in talks to use Huawei software in its cars in China, hoping to boost its efforts to gain a bigger share of the country's electric vehicle (EV) market, a Financial Times report said today.
Three people familiar with the situation said Volkswagen has spoken with Huawei about using the latter's technology in its cars, while another person said the German carmaker has held similar talks with other Chinese groups, according to the report.
Volkswagen is one of the top-selling car companies in China, but it lags behind local carmakers in the country's new energy vehicle (NEV) market.
In the January-April period, Volkswagen's joint venture in China, FAW-Volkswagen, sold 509,774 units at retail, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier, and came in second with an 8.6 percent share, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
BYD sold 702,608 vehicles during the period, up 79.2 percent year-on-year, and ranked first with an 11.9 percent share.
Volkswagen's other joint venture in China, SAIC Volkswagen, sold 338,673 vehicles at retail from January to April, down 2.7 percent year-on-year, and ranked fifth with a 5.7 percent share.
In the NEV segment, BYD ranked first with a 38.1 percent share from January to April, while Tesla was second with a 9.6 percent share.
The NEV sales of Volkswagen's two joint ventures were not in the top 10 of the January-April list published by the CPCA. The No. 10 on the list is Neta, with 33,529 units sold from January to April and a 1.8 percent share.
In July 2020, Volkswagen founded software company Cariad under former CEO Herbert Diess, but earlier this month it removed almost all of Cariad's top executives from their positions.
The Financial Times report cited a person familiar with the talks between Volkswagen and the Chinese companies as saying the discussions reflected how big the problem is for a group like VW, whose unique selling proposition is their scale and platforms.
Another person said Volkswagen is also aware that a Chinese software partner could appeal to Chinese customers who favor local suppliers and are obsessed with stories of technological self-reliance.
Although its software is seen as lagging behind some local players in China, Volkswagen is one of the most aggressive of foreign car companies seeking change.
Last October 13, Horizon Robotics, one of the leading providers of computing solutions for smart vehicles in China, announced that Cariad would form a joint venture with it to accelerate its efforts to develop smart driving technology locally.
Volkswagen plans to invest about 2.4 billion euros for a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, which is expected to close in the first half of 2023, according to a statement from Horizon Robotics.
VW to invest €2.4 billion to form JV with Chinese firm Horizon Robotics
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China issues policy to support NEV consumption in rural areas
A government document voices support for NEV development in rural areas in terms of NEV purchases, charging infrastructure development, and consumer education.
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China has released a new government document to support new energy vehicle (NEV) consumption in rural areas, after NEV penetration in major cities climbed to high levels.
China's National Energy Administration and economic planner National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the document on supporting the development of NEVs in rural areas for provincial and municipal governments and two grid operators, State Grid and Southern Grid. The document, dated May 14, was made public on May 17.
China has built the world's largest charging infrastructure, providing a strong guarantee for the rapid development of NEVs, but there are still problems in rural areas, including insufficient public charging infrastructure, which restricts the release of NEV consumption potential there, the document says.
The advanced construction of charging infrastructure and optimization of the environment for the purchase and use of NEVs are of great significance in promoting NEV consumption in rural areas, according to the document.
The document voices support for NEV development in rural areas in terms of NEV purchases, charging infrastructure construction, and consumer education.
Car companies are encouraged to develop more economical models for consumers in rural areas, especially products including new energy cargo-carrying mini-vans, mini-trucks and light trucks.
China will improve the evaluation system for used NEVs and encourage companies to provide quality vehicles for rural areas.
The country will increase the proportion of NEVs in business vehicles and encourage local governments to increase the use of NEVs in public transportation, road passenger transportation, rental cars, law enforcement, sanitation, and logistics.
Local governments are encouraged to provide consumption voucher support for local rural residents to purchase NEVs, offering trade-in incentives for them to phase out low-speed electric vehicles and purchase regular NEVs.
Credit support for auto consumption in rural areas will also be increased, and financial institutions are encouraged to reasonably determine the down payment ratio, loan interest rate, and repayment period on the premise of risk control.
In terms of charging infrastructure construction in rural areas, local governments should accelerate the construction of charging stations and strive to achieve charging piles in every township.
Local governments are encouraged to promote the construction of centralized public charging stations, and places with conditions such as gas stations should also promote the construction of charging piles.
Existing residential communities in rural areas are encouraged to carry out charging facility construction, and a certain percentage of public charging spaces should be allocated.
Before 2030, China waives the electricity capacity charge for centralized charging and battery swap facilities with a two-part tariff, and relaxes the investment efficiency constraint for grid companies in the construction of distribution grids.
China encourages research on technologies such as two-way interaction between electric vehicles and the grid (V2G), and explores the construction of integrated charging infrastructure in rural areas where the utilization rate of charging piles is low.
In terms of consumer education, China supports local governments and industry bodies to enhance consumer acceptance of NEVs and alleviate purchase and use concerns through a number of activities.
China passenger NEV retail drops 3.6% MoM to 527,000 in Apr, CPCA data show
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China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 14: BYD 46,892, Tesla 9,990, NIO 1,200
NIO's sales appear to continue to be dampened by the upcoming new ES6, as potential consumers may be waiting for this more cost-effective SUV.
The main channels that previously shared weekly auto insurance registrations in China stopped sharing these numbers, but multiple reliable sources that we track on a daily basis shared last week's numbers.
For the week of May 8 to May 14, insurance registrations for all passenger vehicles in China were 365,000, up 43.5 percent year-on-year, but down 11.8 percent from the previous week.
Insurance registrations for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles were 245,000 last week, up 29.8 percent year-on-year but down 20.3 percent from the previous week.
New energy vehicles (NEVs) were 120,000 units last week, up 82.7 percent year-on-year and 12.8 percent from the previous week.
In terms of NEV insurance registrations, BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) continues to hold the distant lead with 46,892 units last week, up from 45,789 units the week before.
s
During the week of May 1 to May 7, the first three days were the Labor Day holiday in China, although May 6 was a Saturday but a weekday. The holiday ran from April 29 to May 3.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) registered 9,990 insurance units in China last week, up from 5,928 the week before.
NIO (NYSE: NIO) had 1,200 insurance registrations last week, up from 1,100 the week before. These numbers are not precise to the single digit, as the sources tracked by CnEVPost did not share more detailed figures.
NIO's sales appear to be continuing to be dampened by the upcoming new ES6, as potential consumers may be waiting for the more cost-effective SUV.
The company announced yesterday that the new ES6 will be officially launched on May 24, with test drives available on the same day and deliveries to begin on May 25.
This will be its fastest model from launch to delivery, perhaps because of the lessons learned from the long waiting period for models including the ET5 that led to the loss of potential orders.
The continued product switchover led to months of sluggish NIO deliveries, which fell further to 6,658 vehicles in April. The company will report first-quarter earnings on June 9, when it is expected to provide guidance on second-quarter deliveries.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) continued its strong trend with 6,670 insurance registrations last week, up from 4,543 the previous week.
Li Auto is currently untroubled by product switches and its three models are competitive compared to their class, allowing it to maintain strong sales.
To show off that it is leading the pack of new car makers, Li Auto has shared weekly insurance registration figures for the past two months, but stopped sharing them this month.
On May 15, Li Auto founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang said on Weibo that their sharing of weekly data was complained about by some of their peers, so they were unable to continue sharing them.
Li Auto guided for second-quarter deliveries between 76,000 and 81,000 vehicles when it reported first-quarter earnings on May 10. Considering it delivered a record 25,681 vehicles in April, that guidance means it expects to deliver a total of 50,319 to 55,319 vehicles in May and June.
XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) had 1,500 insurance registrations last week, up from 870 the week before.
XPeng, similar to NIO, is facing a product switch, with potential consumers perhaps watching the upcoming launch of the new SUV G6.
It previously said the G6 would be officially launched and delivered by the end of the second quarter, with a price range of RMB 200,000 ($28,660) - RMB 300,000.
XPeng's monthly sales target for the G6 is two to three times that of the P7, its chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said during a March 17 analyst call after the company announced its fourth-quarter earnings.
XPeng delivered 7,079 vehicles in April, down 21.36 percent from 9,002 a year ago but up 1.1 percent from 7,002 in March.
It will report first-quarter earnings on May 24, when it is expected to provide guidance on second-quarter deliveries.
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Stellantis-LG battery plant stalls due to lack of Canadian support
Stellantis and LG have halted construction of a joint venture battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, claiming the Canadian government hasn't met certain obligations, Bloomberg reported Monday. The report cited an email from a Stellantis spokesperson confirming that construction of the plant, slated to be the automaker's first large-scale battery... Mercedes-Benz confirms US-bound electric luxury van, potential RV
Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce luxurious mid-size electric passenger vans for the U.S. and China for the first time, along with factory-built RVs, it revealed on Tuesday. The announcement was part of the company’s most comprehensive look yet at its next-generation “.EA” electric architectures. All of these Mercedes-Benz... 