Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng posted a sharp rise in revenue and vehicle deliveries for the first quarter, as operating conditions improved and cost-reduction measures took hold.
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose 141.5% year-on-year to RMB 15.81 billion ($2.18 billion), exceeding Bloomberg consensus estimates of RMB 15.66 billion. However, revenue was down 1.8% from RMB 16.11 billion in the previous quarter.
Xpeng delivered 94,008 vehicles in the first quarter, up more than fourfold from 21,821 units a year earlier. The result surpassed the company’s earlier forecast of 91,000 to 93,000 vehicles.
Net loss narrowed to RMB 660 million, the lowest since Q2 2020, and a 51.5% decrease from RMB 1.37 billion in the same quarter last year. Non-GAAP net loss was RMB 430 million, down from RMB 1.41 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and RMB 1.39 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Gross margin reached a record 15.6%, improving by 2.7 percentage points from the year-ago period and 1.2 points from the previous quarter. Vehicle margin rose to 10.5% from 5.5% in the first quarter of 2024.
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The company attributed the improvement to “ongoing cost reduction and economies of scale driven by the increase in sales volume,” partly offset by inventory-related provisions and upgrade-related purchase commitments.
Margins for services and other revenues climbed to 66.4%, up from 53.9% a year ago and 59.6% in the previous quarter, due to stronger technical service income and improved repair and maintenance revenues.
Research and development expenses increased 46.7% to RMB 1.98 billion, reflecting continued investment in new models and technologies, though they were down slightly quarter-on-quarter.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 40.2% to RMB 1.95 billion from a year earlier, driven by higher commissions linked to increased sales volumes, but fell 14.5% from the fourth quarter due to reduced marketing and advertising costs.
Looking ahead, Xpeng guided second-quarter deliveries to range between 102,000 and 108,000 units, representing year-on-year growth of 237.7% to 257.5%. It expects revenue to reach between RMB 17.5 billion and RMB 18.7 billion, up 115.7% to 130.5% from a year earlier.
As of March 31, Xpeng reported total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments and time deposits of RMB 45.28 billion, compared with RMB 41.40 billion a year earlier.
Source: Xpeng