Xpeng said the extremely tight supply of key components, including lithium iron phosphate batteries, has created great uncertainty in the production of some models.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Last December, Xpeng encountered consumer complaints due to delivery delays for some models. This situation has now reoccurred.

The company apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers by the delayed deliveries of the 460 version of the Xpeng P5 sedan, local media Jiemian said in a report on Tuesday, citing the company.

Xpeng said it would step up communication with suppliers and do its best to reduce the waiting time for customers, according to the report.

The Xpeng P5 is the company's second sedan after the flagship P7, with 10 models currently on sale, including the 550P and 660P, 460E, 460E+, 510E, 550E, 460G, 460G+, 510G and 550G.

In Xpeng's model naming system, the number represents the NEDC range of the model. The 460 series is the model with the lowest range of P5, and also the lowest prices.

Against a backdrop of tight power cell supply, Xpeng appears to be prioritizing the production of higher range models, prompting many consumers who reserved 460 series models to express their discontent on social media.

The industry is facing extreme tightness in the supply of key components, including lithium iron phosphate batteries, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, creating great uncertainty in the production of the Xpeng P5 460 models and causing orders for these models to not be delivered in time for the expected delivery cycle, Jiemian quoted the company as saying.

Xpeng said it has listed customers at risk of delays in delivery and will communicate with them and assist them in changing their booked models or withdrawing their orders, according to the report.

Separately, a report by Yicai on Tuesday said some consumers facing delivery delays for the Xpeng P5 have formed a chat group for the defense of their rights, with some claiming they placed their orders on October 2 last year but have so far not been delivered.

This is not the first time Xpeng has faced such a situation, as in December last year, some consumers who had pre-ordered the Xpeng P7 model with an NEDC range of 480 kilometers issued a joint statement accusing Xpeng of prioritizing the production and delivery of the 670-kilometer range model, while freezing orders for the 480 version.

Xpeng said at the time that the industry was facing extreme supply constraints for lithium iron phosphate batteries due to the Covid-19 outbreak, creating great uncertainty for the production of the Xpeng P7 480E/N models.

This has resulted in Xpeng being unable to deliver the 480 models within the expected delivery date at the time the customer placed the order, for which the company apologizes, the company previously said.

The Xpeng experience is just a microcosm of what is currently constraining the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, which remains constrained by tight supply rather than weak demand.

Information on Tesla's website shows that Chinese consumers who reserve a Model Y currently have to wait 10-14 weeks for delivery, or as early as the end of April. This has also helped keep Model Y prices very high on used car platforms.

The vast majority of Tesla Model Y vehicles for sale on multiple online used car trading platforms in China are priced above RMB 300,000 ($47,000), higher than what their owners paid for them in the first place, information seen by CnEVPost shows.