Chinese EV Maker Xpeng Shares Soar 14% on New Cost-Saving Tech Architecture

BEIJING, April 17 (TMTPOST)— The American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Xeng Inc. settled around 14% higher to US$11.43, the highest close since January, 4, after the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) unveiled its next generation of tech architecture that can significantly save costs on Monday.

Source: Visual China

Xpeng’s domestic peers also outperformed that day. The U.S. listed shares of Nio Inc. and Li Auto Inc. climbed about 6% and 6.4%, respectively, while S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher.

At an auto tech architecture event launched in Shanghai, Xpeng announced its SEPA2.0 (Smart Electric Platform Architecture), an end-to-end integrated technology architecture, would bring a series of more advanced architectural solutions, from the in-house development autonomous driving software to vehicle engineering. The architecture will significantly optimizing R&D efficiency as it can shorten future models’ R&D cycle by 20%. 80% of architectural components will be compatible with new models, enabling to meet diverse customer needs at optimized costs. As the first model built on the architecture, Xpeng G6 Ultra Smart Coupe SUV will debut on April 18 at Auto Shanghai 2023.

Xpeng called its full-scenario Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) solution the ultimate form of driver assistance, and expected it to be a standard on all future models for the Chinese market. With SEPA2.0, XNGP’s overall R&D efficiency will increase by 30%, while ADAS software model adaptation costs will reduce by 70%. The company aims to deliver takeover frequency less than once per 1,000 kilometers in highway scenarios in 2023, and takeover frequency less than once per 100 km in urban scenarios by 2025.

SEPA2.0 can reduce adaptation costs of Xmart OS, an in-car operating system powered by AI, by 85%, shortens voice software R&D cycle by 50% and cut cost of voice assistant service by 50%. The architecture also can boost charging efficiency. It Silicon Carbide (SiC) Platform enables 800V high voltage charging, increasing battery charging speed by 50% over the previous generation. With a standard 3C cell configuration, the battery can add 130 kilometers of range with a five-minute charge, and can charge even faster at Xpeng’s S4 480kW superfast charging facilities, adding 200 km of range with a five-minute charge. The company plans to set up 500 new S4-enbaled superfast charging stations by the end of 2023.

“We envision that this evolutionary intelligent architecture will lead smart EV technology development for the next three years. It will make rapid advancements in technology available for our customers as standard, with faster software upgrades, stunning cost savings and elevated product experience,” said Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng.

Deliveries released at the beginning of this month showed Xpeng is still a laggard compared with peers. It delivered 7,002 vehicles with more than 54% yearly decline in March, though the 17% month-over-month (MoM) growth was slightly stronger than the monthly increase of 15% in February.

BYD Co., the largest EV manufacturer in China, sold 207,080 NEVs in March with a year-over-year (YoY) 97.45% increase and a 6.9% MoM increase. Aion, a brand owned by the state-owned manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC), said its sales in March rose 97% YoY to 40,016 units, for the first time topping 40,000 vehicles, and sales up 33% from a month ago. Li Auto delivered 20,823 vehicles with YoY growth of 89% and MoM growth of 25%. Delivery in the first quarter of the year reached 52,600 units, up 66% from the same quarter last year. NIO Inc announced delivery in March edged 3.9% higher to 10,378 units, but falling 14.6% from previous month. Its quarterly delivery climbed 20.5% YoY to 31,000 units.