(Source: CnEVPost)

Xpeng Motors today announced unaudited financial results showing record first-quarter revenue of RMB 2.95 billion (US$450.4 million), above Wall Street expectations of RMB 2.886 billion.

In a subsequent analyst call, Xpeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said the revamp of the Xpeng P5 and P7 shared production line has been completed and is now being tested for adjustments.

He said that Xpeng's plants in Zhaoqing, Guangzhou, and Wuhan can reach an annual capacity of 300,000 units when they are all ready. After proper renovation, the peak capacity can reach 500,000 units.

He said Xpeng exported more than 300 G3 SUVs in the first quarter and Xpeng plans to start delivering P7s in Norway in the second half of the year.

The following are the main points of the call:

We launched the NGP feature at the end of January and we completed the NGP Expedition in March, which I think proves that our autopilot capabilities are ahead of all similar products in the market today.

Our algorithms are constantly iterating on a weekly basis.

Recruiting and retaining great technical talent is fundamental to our ability to lead the EV industry, and our R&D team members make up 40% of the company's workforce.

On April 19 of this year, we showcased the P5 at the Shanghai Auto Show and opened reservations for over 10,000 bookings as a child of 53, and the feedback from the market exceeded our expectations.

The P5 is an A+ class sedan, but with more interior space than many B class sedans. We plan to deliver the P5 in the fourth quarter, with XPILOT 3.5 launching at the end of the year.

We plan to launch the next generation of the platform next year and will ramp up the infrastructure this year.

The Xpeng brand has 172 Superchargers covering 60 cities. Our goal is to have 500 Xpeng own-brand supercharging stations by the end of the year.

The renovation of the P5 and P7 common production line has been completed and is currently being adjusted on a trial basis.

When Xpeng's factories in Zhaoqing, Guangzhou, and Wuhan are all ready, the annual production capacity can reach 300,000 units. After proper modifications, the peak capacity can reach 500,000 units.

Xpeng exported over 300 G3 SUVs in the first quarter and we plan to start delivering P7s in Norway in the second half of the year.

We have tested many models of LiDAR, and different products vary in capability, scale, and cost. We will have more different LiDAR partners for the models we are going to release in 2022 and 2023.

The current intelligent capability of Xpeng can make up for the shortcomings of LiDAR.

The P5 pre-order numbers are several times higher than the pre-orders for the same period after the P7 was released, and the feedback from salespeople after the P7 was released was that there was pressure on pricing. The feedback from the sales staff on P5 was very positive.

Chips are a challenge for all car companies, and we expect the chip shortage to ease in the third quarter, with the worst-case scenario extending into the first quarter of next year.

We previously predicted the chip problem and have placed orders in advance. I dare not say 100%, but in Xpeng in today's situation, the possibility of solving the chip problem is very high.