TMTPOST --  The American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Xpeng Inc. dropped as much as 8.5% before settling nearly 3.8% lower on Tuesday. Shares retreated despite the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker’s sales beat and upbeat delivery outlook.

Credit：Xpeng

Xpeng’s top line remained double-digit growth for the quarter ended September 30. Revenue surged 18.4% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB10.1 billion (US$1.39 billion), beating analysts’ projection of RMB9.77 billion. Growth of the revenue still slowed from a 60.2% YoY increase three months ago. Xpeng’s bottom line missed Wall Street expectation, though the company narrowed losses significantly. The net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for the September quarter was RMB1.81 billion, down from net loss of RMB3.89 billion a year earlier. Analysts estimated net loss of RMB 1.6 billion. Xpeng booked net loss of RMB 1.90 per American depositary share (ADS), while analysts expected a loss of RMB1.71 per ADS.

Xpeng attributed the revenue growth to the higher vehicle deliveries, the techinical research and development (R&D) services related to  platform and software strategic technical collaboration, as well as electrical/electronic architecture (EEA) technical collaboration with the Volkswagen Group.

Xpeng delivered a total of 46,533 vehicles for the September quarter with a 16.3% YoY increase, topping the high end of the company’s guidance range. That suggested deliveries decelerated compared with a 30.2% YoY rise for the previous quarter. Vehicle sales climbed 12.1% YoY to RMB8.8 billion. Vehicle margin increased 2.5 points YoY to 8.6% for the third quarter.

The YoY increase in margin was mainly due to the cost reduction and the improvement in product mix of models, Xpeng said. The results benefited from strong order momentum of the Mona M03, the full-elelctric mid-sized sedan Xpeng launched in late August. The model, starting at US$16,900, rivals the Telsa Model 3 with its aerodynamic design, 620 km range, and standard advanced tech. Xpeng has delivered more than 10,000 units Mona M03 vehicles for the second straight month in October.

Xpeng offered stronger-than expected delivery guidance for the current quarter. Deliveries for the quarter ended December are anticipated to be between 87,000 and 91,000, representing a range of about 44.6% and 51.3%. That is the highest quarterly delivery volume since the Guangzhou-based company was founded in 2015.

Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng highlighted on an earnings call the company  on November 7 rolled out the P7+, the world's first  car to incorporate large aritificial intelligence (AI) models. “The P7+ has become a phenomenal success in the mid to large BEV sedan market and marks a milestone in the widespread adoption of AI-defined cars,” He said. The chief executive expected the delivery volume of the P7+ to exceed 10,000 units in December. He added both the M03 and the P7+ have begun double-shift production. As production capacity ramps up, Xpeng anticipated monthly deliveries will set a record in the fourth quarter and will strive to exceed 30,000 units in November.

Starting from the P7+ model, Xpeng’s new and facelifted Max models will all feature the AI Hawkeye Visual ADAS solution. Following the week-long Chinese New Year from the late January 2025, Mona M03 Max will start mass producing the platform-based AI Hawkeye visual ADAS solution, according to He. “This will allow us to become the world's first car company to offer advanced intelligent driving vehicles for just RMB150,000 or about $20,000, lowering the threshold,” He said.

As to the timetable of 2025, He said Xpeng plans to launch at least four new models, including super electric vehicles, and update several existing models. Xpeng's overseas vehicle sales rose 70% from the previoius quarter to the September quarter, making up 15% of total sales. For the year 2025, the EV maker plans to further expand its international sales network to more than 300 stores, expanding to over 90% of the EV market outside of North America. It set a goal of maintaining robust growth in overseas sales over the next three years, aiming to secure the leading position in mid to high-end EV export sales among Chinese automakers.