Chinese electric vehicle trio NIO, Xpeng Motors, and Li Auto recently reported their first-quarter earnings between May 21 and June 3, as they become increasingly divided on their paths toward maturity and deep market penetration after a decade of operation.
Xpeng saw another record-high quarterly deliveries and significantly narrowed its losses, enjoying its highest growth rate In over a decade. Li Auto remains the most profitable Chinese EV maker, although it faces a slowdown in revenue growth driven by increasing competition from the likes of Huawei and Hong Kong-listed Leapmotor. NIO faces a tougher road to profitability than expected.
Following are some of the key figures from their Q1 earnings reports.
Beijing-headquartered Li Auto generated RMB 25.9 billion ($3.6 billion) in revenue between January and March, in what is usually the low season for auto sales in China, which represents only a 1.1% increase from a year earlier and a 41.4% decline quarter-on-quarter.
In contrast, Xpeng caught quickly as revenue surged 141.5% year-on-year and leapfrogged NIO in quarterly revenue for the first time ever in the past quarter, mainly thanks to strong demand for its entry-level but tech-packed MONA M03 sedans.
Xpeng also reported significant and consistent improvement in its operating margin over the past two years, rising to negative 6.6% from negative 25.1% a year earlier. Still, analysts warned that it remains to be seen whether the company can steal a piece of the pie in the more lucrative premium vehicle sector.
Li Auto’s operating margin fell to 1% from 8.4% in the fourth quarter of last year, although that was higher than the negative 2.3% it achieved a year ago. For NIO, the timing couldn’t be worse, as its operating margin came in at negative 53.3%, only one percentage point higher than the previous year.
NIO once again posted a steep quarterly loss of more than RMB 6.7 billion in the first three months of this year, in contrast to a profit of RMB 650 million earned by peer Li Auto over the same period. Meanwhile, Xpeng’s net loss narrowed by more than half to RMB 664 million from roughly RMB 1.3 billion both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
Both Xpeng and NIO have set a goal of more than doubling their annual sales to 380,000 and 440,000 units, respectively, as well as making a profit in the fourth quarter of this year. Li Auto did not give an outlook or guidance for deliveries for the year, although it reportedly cut its annual sales goal to 640,000 units this year.
READ MORE: Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto: your cheat sheet to China’s listed Tesla rivals
