Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng has predicted a weak fourth-quarter revenue performance, citing fierce competition and a prolonged price war as key factors. Despite record deliveries in October, XPeng's U.S.-listed shares experienced a 3% decline in premarket trading, indicating market concerns. The company's cautious outlook stands in contrast to its rival NIO's strong performance, highlighting the uneven impact of the price war on the Chinese EV sector. XPeng's revenue forecast for the quarter is between 21.5 billion yuan and 23 billion yuan, significantly lower than analysts' expectations of 26 billion yuan. This downturn is attributed to reduced brand appeal in models priced above 200,000 yuan, as well as decreased investment in intelligent driving. The introduction of the Mona M03, a mass-market model developed in collaboration with DiDi, is a strategic move to target China's affordable EV segment. However, XPeng's long-term focus on innovative projects, such as 'flying car' concepts and humanoid robots, may pose challenges to its near-term earnings. Despite these challenges, XPeng's third-quarter revenue of 20.38 billion yuan met expectations, driven by a significant year-on-year increase in vehicle deliveries. The company's financial performance is expected to be further scrutinized in the coming quarters.
