Only a Loss of 1.1 Billion, XPeng Must Achieve Profitability

Before the launch of the brand new P7, do you remember which new car Xiaopeng Motors hired several spokespersons for?

You definitely don't remember, because there has never been such a precedent in the history of Xiaopeng Motors.

Before 2025, the only person who can be called the spokesperson for XPeng models is Lin Zhiying, the "Brand Intelligence Friend" of the 2023 XPeng G6.

In addition, He Guangzhi, Yang Li, and others' collaboration with Xiaopeng in stand-up comedy does not fit the traditional definition of a spokesperson.

In the process of launching the all-new P7, He Xiaopeng has signed four celebrity endorsers: film and television star Zhong Chuxi, former Olympic champion Ning Zetao, famous artist Zhu Zhenting, and Chen Yanshi.

In contrast, XPeng Motors’ sales cornerstone—the MONA M03—has only one brand ambassador, Nana Ou-Yang.

In 2024, when the MONA M03 has already become a hit, and with the Max version set to launch in 2025, XPeng Motors, which is hopeful of turning a profit, has approached Ouyang Nana.

The all-new P7 debuted alongside four top celebrity ambassadors, showcasing a non-typical Xpeng to the outside world.

From left to right: Chen Yanxi, Zhu Zhenting, Zhong Chuxi, and Ning Zetao.

In just 7 minutes, over 10,000 units of the new P7 were sold, proving that the "atypical Xpeng" achieved a successful debut.

Behind the atypical operations, Xpeng Motors must achieve its established strategy of profitability in the fourth quarter.

"I am very confident that this year we will not only achieve our sales growth target of more than doubling, but the company will also be profitable in the fourth quarter."

As early as the Q1 earnings conference in May this year, He Xiaopeng, founder, chairman, and CEO of XPeng Motors, had already set a flag, and he believes that "our growth potential is just beginning to be unleashed."

Xpeng Motors' financial report is proving He Xiaopeng's words.

The financial report shows that Xpeng Motors' revenue in the first half of 2025 increased by over 132.5%, reaching 34.08 billion yuan, with losses reduced by nearly 60%, amounting to only 1.14 billion yuan.

In the second quarter, XPeng's gross margin on car sales, a key indicator, significantly increased by 4 percentage points to 14.3%, far exceeding the market expectation of 11.4% and setting a new historical high.

However, although the second quarter's performance was very impressive, there were also some less harmonious factors.

For example, Xpeng's revenue in the second quarter was 18.3 billion yuan, slightly below the market expectation of 18.6 billion yuan. More importantly, in the guidance for the third quarter, Xpeng Motors expects to deliver between 113,000 and 118,000 new cars, with revenue ranging from 19.6 billion to 21 billion yuan. Compared to the market's estimated delivery of 119,000 vehicles and revenue of 21.06 billion yuan, Xpeng's guidance is slightly below expectations.

But the emergence of an "atypical XPeng" was also beyond market expectations. In order to achieve profitability in the fourth quarter, XPeng Motors went all out.

"The initial idea was to invite six ambassadors."

The all-new P7, a new car with four brand ambassadors.

When many people were saying they couldn't understand, He Xiaopeng stated in an interview with EO Auto and other media, "Initially, we actually wanted to invite six because we have six colors, six personalities, six styles. We believe the P7 is a very different car."

As the first blockbuster since the establishment of Xiaopeng Motors, the first-generation P7 has sold over 230,000 units throughout its lifecycle. Therefore, it is not surprising that He Xiaopeng said the P7 is "very different."

However, recruiting four spokespeople at once—among them not only top film and television stars but also Olympic champions—is a lineup rarely seen not just in the history of XPeng Motors, but also in the global automotive industry.

This is still not the full extent of atypical XPeng.

As a new force that has always emphasized assisted driving capabilities, He Xiaopeng, when introducing the all-new P7, instead repeatedly highlighted the vehicle's handling and chassis tuning capabilities.

This is the car I've driven the most among all the test drives recently.

At the launch event of the new P7, He Xiaopeng spent a significant amount of time and shared his personal experience to introduce the handling and chassis of the new car.

In an interview after the press conference, he even stated: "In the past, I used to drive many cars with a combination of autonomous driving and manual driving. But once I started driving this car, I didn't want to let go. This is an ultimate sports coupe, and I think it still needs to be driven manually."

Shifting from the latest intelligent capabilities to traditional control and chassis tuning may seem like a regression, but in fact, it represents He Xiaopeng's further development in the understanding of intelligent electric vehicles.

In an interview at the beginning of 2025, He Xiaopeng stated that smart electric vehicles can be broken down into three capabilities: AI capability, the "three electrics" capability, and automotive capability. Among these, the first two capabilities are possessed by XPeng itself, while the "automotive capability" is further enhanced by Volkswagen during their collaboration with XPeng.

This improvement is also reflected in the all-new P7. During the pre-sale launch event, He Xiaopeng mentioned that the chassis of the all-new P7 is a product of the collaboration between Xiaopeng and Volkswagen.

As the world's second-largest multinational automobile company, Volkswagen's expertise in chassis tuning has long been recognized by the industry.

Of course, the improvement of "automotive capabilities" is by no means limited to chassis tuning; vehicle design and emotional value are also very important elements of "automotive capabilities." In this regard, Lei Jun and Xiaomi Auto have already provided new ideas for the Chinese automotive industry.

"The release of the YU7 this time was truly shocking. My summary is: atmosphere beats productism." As the Chief Investment Officer and Senior Partner of Lenovo Ventures, Song Chunyu told EqualOcean Auto that Lei Jun has developed an unprecedented new paradigm for car manufacturing, which is "indeed very impressive."

When the big names in the venture capital field are deeply analyzing the Xiaomi YU7 phenomenon, He Xiaopeng, as a friend of Lei Jun, cannot ignore the role of design language and emotional value.

"The changes in the external environment now prompt us to adjust our internal decision-making logic, allowing aesthetics to make decisions first, followed by technology," said He Xiaopeng. "In the upcoming updated models, the outside world will see the power of XPeng Motors in emotional value, 'something that can make all car owners feel fun'—this is what we are currently working on."

When XPeng, already skilled in electric powertrain systems and AI capabilities, begins to further improve elements of "automotive capability" such as vehicle design, chassis tuning, and emotional value, the outside world can naturally expect an XPeng Motors with longer strengths and shorter weaknesses.

All of these capacity-building efforts are actually aimed at one goal: to achieve profitability in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, no one has a way out.

Since the beginning of 2025, Xiaopeng Motors' losses have been continuously decreasing.

In the first quarter, XPeng Motors reported a loss of 660 million RMB, narrowing by 51.4% year-on-year; in the second quarter, the loss further narrowed to 480 million RMB, decreasing by 62.8% year-on-year and 37.5% quarter-on-quarter.

According to this trend, it is highly likely that XPeng Motors will achieve profitability in the fourth quarter of this year. In order to turn this high probability event into reality, XPeng Motors is also accelerating the launch of new products.

In addition to the all-new P7, XPeng Motors will launch two extended-range models in the fourth quarter: a mid-to-large SUV and a mid-to-large MPV. This will help XPeng continue to improve its brand image and product pricing. The second-quarter financial report has already shown that with the launch of revamped models such as G6 and G9, the proportion of higher-priced models in XPeng's model structure for the quarter increased by 17 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, while the lower-priced MONA M03 decreased by 12 percentage points.

In addition, since the fourth quarter of last year, XPeng Motors has continuously improved its supply chain cost reduction capabilities. The better-than-expected growth in vehicle gross margin in the second quarter indicates that XPeng's cost reduction ability is further strengthening, which will lay the foundation for XPeng's profitability in the fourth quarter at the supply chain level.

Since the beginning of this year, XPeng Motors' stock price has been continuously rising, indicating that the capital market is optimistic about the future of XPeng Motors.

However, it must be said here—

However, the intensity of the market in the fourth quarter of this year is likely to exceed external expectations! In the face of the upcoming high-intensity competition, it cannot be taken for granted that Xpeng can successfully break through and achieve profitability.

"Starting in 2026, purchasing new energy vehicles will incur a purchase tax. This policy change will prompt many consumers to buy cars earlier, shifting the demand from the first quarter of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2025," a representative from a car company told Yiou Auto. "The change in purchase tax policy presents a huge challenge for all car companies. If a car company cannot win the battle in the fourth quarter of this year, there's no hope for the first quarter of next year."

"The more feasible plan is to move the cars that are supposed to be sold in the first quarter of next year to sell them all in the fourth quarter of this year," said another car company representative. "If we can't advance as many sales as possible to the fourth quarter of this year, the first quarter of next year will only be worse. We can only advance and overspend, there's no other way."

Now everyone understands why XPeng must achieve profitability in the fourth quarter of this year. If they fail to turn a profit in Q4, the likelihood of becoming profitable in Q1 next year will be even lower, which means losing half a year’s time all at once.

Therefore, for emerging players who have yet to turn a profit, the time window in the fourth quarter of this year must be seized! This sense of urgency is not felt by XPeng alone; NIO feels it as well.

NIO has made it clear that it aims to achieve a profitable quarter in the fourth quarter of this year. After releasing the second-quarter financial report, NIO's founder, chairman, and CEO William Li explained the reasons behind this to the media.

"This is not just a problem for one company; I believe that everyone will face significant pressure in the first quarter of next year. This year, there has been a reduction in the purchase tax, which is very tangible, so there will definitely be a concentrated early release by the end of this year. I estimate that from the industry's demand perspective, achieving half of the fourth quarter of this year in the first quarter of next year would be quite good."

Li Bin can sense the tension in the air, so how could He Xiaopeng not notice it? Perhaps it was precisely because he had long sensed it that the all-new P7 and a "non-typical XPeng" have emerged.

Less than a month away from the fourth quarter of 2025, XPeng has gradually addressed its shortcomings in chassis handling, vehicle design, and emotional value, with two new range-extended models poised for release. For XPeng, which aims to achieve profitability in the fourth quarter, the winter of 2025 presents the best opportunity and the greatest challenge; it is both a winter of hope and a winter of ordeal; it is the last darkness before dawn and the baptismal battle before maturity.

Wishing XPeng and NIO, these "repeating brothers," to break through the competition and achieve profitability.