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Recently, new energy vehicle companies have successively disclosed their 2023 interim financial reports. As of August 22, 2023, Li Auto, Xiaopeng Motors, and Tesla have all released their second-quarter and interim results for 2023. From the perspective of the international market, traditional automobile companies such as Volkswagen and Toyota have also released their results for the first half of 2023.
In the first half of 2023, the new energy vehicle market will continue to be hot spots. At the beginning of 2023, Tesla started a price war and announced price cuts in more than ten countries around the world, with the highest reduction of more than 20%. Subsequently, other new energy car companies followed suit, and traditional car companies also cut prices and cleared inventory. "The market is getting more and more complicated" is the common sentiment of many car companies.
In addition to the frenzy of price cuts, the frenzy of production suspension and bankruptcy has also swept the new energy vehicle industry. In February 2023, WM Motor was caught in a whirlpool of public opinion regarding work and production suspensions and financial constraints. Since then, Evergrande Motors, Byton Motors, Singularity Motors, Reading Motors and other companies that once stood on the high-profile stage have encountered crises, filed for bankruptcy, or fallen into scandals.
The three brothers of the new force "Wei Xiaoli" have already parted ways and went their separate ways. Li Auto stands out and has a great performance; Xiaopeng Motors is struggling on the verge of life and death, and Weilai Automobile is still looking for the "future".
In terms of traditional car companies, major car companies have also significantly accelerated their deployment in the field of new energy vehicles. At the 2023 Shanghai International Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Volvo, BYD, Volkswagen, etc. all have new energy heavyweight new cars unveiled or released.
In this issue, we select Tesla, Volkswagen, Li Auto, and Xpeng Motors as the leaders of new energy vehicles, the leaders of traditional vehicles, and representatives of new forces respectively to analyze their performance in the first half of 2023 from the business and financial levels. We hope that We can see the future development trend of some industries.
New energy vehicle leader: Tesla
According to the financial report, Tesla’s total revenue in the second quarter of 2023 will be US$24.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47%; among them, automotive revenue will be US$21.27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46%.
Source: Tesla financial report
In terms of profit, the operating profit in the second quarter was US$2.4 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3%; the company's net profit (GAAP) was US$2.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20%.
From the perspective of profit margin, since 2023, Tesla's gross profit margin and operating profit margin have both declined significantly compared with 2022, with the gross profit margin falling below 20%, Q2 gross profit margin 18.2%; Q2 operating profit margin 9.6% , dropped below 10%.
Cartography: Data Monkey
In terms of cash flow, the net inflow of operating cash flow in the second quarter was US$3.065 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 22%; cash and cash equivalents were US$23.075 billion, a year-on-year increase of 22%. As can be seen from the chart below, Tesla's cash reserves have increased quarter by quarter, and its cash flow is very sufficient.
Cartography: Data Monkey
In terms of automobile production capacity, a total of 479,700 units were produced in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 86%; of which, 19,489 Model S/X units were produced, a year-on-year increase of 19%; Model 3/Y produced 460,211 units, a year-on-year increase of 90%.
Source: Tesla financial report
Judging from the production capacity of each factory, Tesla's Shanghai factory is still the main force in production, with an annual production capacity of more than 750,000 vehicles; followed by the California factory, with an annual production capacity of 650,000 vehicles. Based on the data in the table below, Tesla's global annual production capacity exceeds 2 million vehicles.
Source: Tesla financial report
In terms of vehicle delivery, Tesla delivered a total of 466,140 vehicles in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 83%, including 1,922 Model S/X vehicles and 446,915 Model 3/Y vehicles. In the first half of the year, a total of 889,015 vehicles were delivered.
Judging from operating data and financial data, price cuts have indeed increased the sales of Tesla vehicles and enhanced cash flow, but they have an adverse impact on both gross profit margin and operating profit margin.
At the same time, it can be seen that Tesla's production capacity growth rate (86%) can keep up with its sales growth rate (83%).
From a business perspective, the first major thing Tesla will do in 2023 is to cut prices. Judging from the level of gross profit margin in 2022, Tesla ranks first in the new energy vehicle industry with 26%, ideally 19.4%, and Weilai only 10.4%.
Table: 2022 Gross Profit Margin of New Energy Automobile Companies: Data Ape
Therefore, Tesla has a lot of room for price cuts, and companies with low gross profit margins like Weilai and Xiaopeng can hardly withstand the impact of price cuts. Musk's move can be described as: exchanging price for volume, bloodbath the market.
At the same time, Tesla continues to take measures to reduce costs. Lars Moravy, chief engineer at Tesla, said the company hopes to build the next generation of electric vehicles at half the cost of the current Model 3 or Model Y.
It is understood that Tesla’s next-generation platform will reduce the amount of silicon carbide used by 75%, the next-generation permanent magnet motor will not use rare earth materials at all, and the total manufacturing cost will be reduced by US$1,000. It is reported that Tesla's Mexico factory will adopt a new manufacturing method to simultaneously produce and spray parts for Tesla's next-generation models, and then assemble them in one go, reducing assembly steps by 40% and manufacturing costs by 50%.
According to the assembly method of the next-generation car production line revealed by Tesla, a car is divided into six modules, each of which has the corresponding parts installed, spray-painted, and sent to the assembly line. The mechanical arm puts the six modules together, and finally installs the doors and tires, and the installation is over. Tesla's new assembly line can achieve what Musk has always wanted to do, to build cars with machines instead of people as much as possible. The robot arm can work 24 hours a day without paying social security, which can greatly reduce production costs.
Take Model 3 as an example. Currently, the starting price in the Chinese market is about 230,000 yuan. If the next generation of new cars is manufactured at half the cost in the future, the new car will be priced in the price range of 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan, directly entering the public. consumer market.
This also means that Tesla will comprehensively deploy high-, medium-, and low-level automobile consumer markets in the future.
In terms of autonomous driving, the optional FSD models currently driving on American roads have been updated to the FSD Beta V11.4.4 version. Starting from version V11.4, Tesla’s assisted driving has switched from the multi-scenario integration solution used by most car companies and suppliers to an end-to-end architecture with direct output from artificial intelligence. According to Tesla's first half of 2023 results conference, Tesla FSD has made new progress in mileage. The cumulative mileage of FSD Beta has exceeded 300 million miles, and it increased by approximately 100 million miles in 23Q2 alone.
Figure: Accumulated mileage using FSD Beta (millions) Source: Tesla
Judging from the progress of the launch, Tesla FSD has "reached the eve of its official launch" in North America. It is expected that the next generation, that is, the V12 version will bid farewell to the "Beta" and begin to penetrate a wider range of consumers. Outside of North America, the trend of FSD entering China is becoming increasingly clear, and it is expected to accelerate the overall intelligentization process of Chinese car companies.
The profit model of the FSD suite adopts a one-time purchase system and a monthly subscription system, and the one-time purchase price has been increased to US$15,000 after multiple rounds of price increases; the FSD monthly subscription price is between US$99 and US$199.
Service and other revenue in Q2 2023 was US$2.15 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47% and a month-on-month increase of 17%, accounting for 8.6% of total revenue.
With the implementation of FSD, the proportion of this part of the revenue is expected to continue to increase.
In terms of new product development, the electric pickup truck Cybertruck is expected to become a new profit growth point for Tesla. Cybertruck is Tesla's new product to enter the electric pickup truck track. According to the Q2 results meeting, Cybertruck production capacity is ramping up and is scheduled to begin delivery at the end of this year. The expected annual output is between 250,000 and 500,000 vehicles. According to Teslarati data, Cybertruck bookings have exceeded 1.94 million as of July 21.
At the same time, Tesla is vertically integrating the new energy industry chain, including solar roofs, residential energy storage systems, B-end energy storage systems, super-absorbent battery systems, etc., expanding from new energy vehicles to aircraft and ships.
In terms of overall planning, according to Tesla’s Master Plan 3.0, it is committed to building a global sustainable energy empire. By building a closed loop of online + offline, car + energy replenishment services, as well as in-depth research in the fields of photovoltaic energy storage business, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, we will gradually improve its software and service ecosystem and create a comprehensive "Tesla network".
Overall, Tesla is continuing to improve technology to reduce costs and expand market share. In the future, it will use cars as a carrier and software and service ecology as its revenue focus. From this perspective, further declines in car prices will continue. Musk’s “price-for-volume” strategy will continue to advance.
However, Tesla has not launched a new consumer vehicle since 2020, and the company is widely seen as lagging behind other automakers that are rushing to develop new electric vehicles to meet growing demand.
At the same time, in May 2023, the German Handelsblatt obtained 100 GB of Tesla internal documents. The contents of the leaked documents showed that Tesla’s autonomous driving technology seems to be still a long way from being safe enough for roads. Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst in Berlin, said: Tesla has long taken a "move fast and break things" approach to product development, which has led to concerns about whether its new products are ready Hit the road. Tesla has been responsible for 393 fatal accidents, 33 of which were related to Autopilot.
Elsewhere, Musk divides his time between running Tesla, his rocket company SpaceX and Twitter, and shareholders have been asking Musk to get back in the driver's seat of Tesla.
Traditional car boss: Volkswagen
According to financial report data, the Volkswagen Group’s 2023Q2 sales revenue was 80.06 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%; the sales revenue in the first half of the year was 156.26 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%.
Q2 operating profit was 5.6 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%; operating profit in the first half of the year was 11.35 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 13.9%.
The operating profit margin in 2023Q2 is 7.0%, and the operating profit margin in the first half of the year is 7.3%.
In terms of cash flow, the net inflow of operating cash flow in 2023Q2 was 6.161 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 21%; the net operating cash inflow in the first half of the year was 13.737 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 1%.
Source: Volkswagen Financial Report
In terms of automobile production capacity, a total of 2.418 million vehicles were produced in Q2 2023, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%; a total of 4.691 million vehicles were produced in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
In terms of vehicle delivery, a total of 2.332 million vehicles were delivered in Q2 2023, a year-on-year increase of 18%; a total of 4.372 million vehicles were delivered in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.8%.
Judging from the changes in regional passenger vehicle delivery volume, in the first half of 2023, the European market delivery volume increased by 24% year-on-year, the North American market increased by 12.7% year-on-year, and the South American market increased by 24.4% year-on-year; the Asia-Pacific region decreased by -0.1% year-on-year, of which the Chinese market A year-on-year decrease of 1.3%.
Source: Volkswagen Financial Report
In terms of car sales, a total of 2.324 million cars were sold in 2023Q2, an increase of 15.5% year-on-year; a total of 4.448 million cars were sold in the first half of the year, an increase of 11% year-on-year.
In terms of new energy vehicles, in the first half of 2023, the Volkswagen Group delivered 321,610 pure electric vehicles to global customers, a year-on-year increase of 48.1%; it delivered 115,399 plug-in hybrid models, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. The two totaled 437,009 units, and new energy vehicles accounted for 10% of the group's total delivery volume.
The Volkswagen Group achieved another milestone in June 2023, delivering one million electric vehicles based on the MEB platform.
MEB's full name in German is "Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten", and its English translation is "modular electric drive matrix". It is a highly compatible modular platform created by the Volkswagen brand for pure electric vehicles. More than 50% of all electric vehicles delivered by the Volkswagen Group come from the MEB platform. Since September 2020, the number of Volkswagen factories producing MEB models worldwide has now reached 8. At the end of April 2023, the 500,000th battery system will be produced at Skoda's main plant in Mladá Boleslav. The plant produces battery systems for MEB vehicles and plug-in hybrid models.
Currently, the Volkswagen Group's most successful all-electric vehicles include the ID.3 and ID.4 of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, the Audi Q4 e-tron and Audi Q8 e-tron, the Skoda Enyaq iV, CUPRA Born and the Porsche Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo.
As can be seen from the above, Volkswagen has made good progress in pure electric vehicles. Although the proportion of new energy vehicles in the entire group is not high, judging from the absolute value of delivery volume, it is still good.
At the Capital Markets Day in June 2023, the Volkswagen Group proposed a new leadership model with greater emphasis on customer orientation, entrepreneurship and teamwork. The “value over volume” principle prioritizes sustainable value creation over volume growth.
Brands will receive new guidance models as well as enhanced product range and brand positioning.
The reorganization also includes the renaming of brand groups: Volume has been renamed Core, Premium is now Progressive, Sport & Luxury has been renamed Sport Luxury, and Truck & Bus has been renamed Trucks. The Volkswagen Group has set strategic sales return targets for each group brand and for the PowerCo and CARIAD technology platforms. Each brand will be responsible for achieving these goals through a structured performance plan.
To enable brands to maximize the economies of scale of technology platforms, technology areas – architecture, batteries, software and mobile services – will be restructured.
In terms of autonomous driving, CARIAD, as the software department of the Volkswagen brand, the business definition of CARIAD is very clear: "Develop a unified and scalable new software platform, advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving, as well as next-generation intelligent interconnection functions." For Volkswagen In terms of its software platform development vision, by 2030, the technology stack developed by CARIAD will be running on more than 40 million Volkswagen vehicles around the world. By studying the huge amount of real-time interconnected data related to autonomous driving, Volkswagen's shared car fleet can continuously launch new functions and services to meet customers' different customized travel needs. By then, software will become one of the most important profit pools .
But things didn't go as planned. In May 2023, Volkswagen fired most of the board members of its software unit Cariad in an attempt to resolve development issues. It is reported that CARIAD's lagging R&D progress has had a serious impact on the launch of new cars by many brands under the Volkswagen Group, including the Porsche e-Macan and the Audi Q6 e-tron. CARIAD, on the other hand, suffered heavy losses. According to the financial report, CARIAD will have a cumulative loss of nearly 3.4 billion euros (about 25.8 billion yuan) in 2021 and 2022.
For traditional car manufacturers, if the new energy sector relies entirely on self-research, it will be a time-consuming and risky choice. Or they can rely on the sufficient cash flow accumulated in the past to quickly enter the market through mergers and acquisitions or cooperation to fill the gap as soon as possible. Filling in the leaks is a good way.
In October 2022, CARIAD, a software company under the Volkswagen Group, cooperated with Horizon, investing approximately 2.4 billion euros to establish and hold a joint venture to jointly develop leading, highly optimized full-stack advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous driving solutions to strengthen Advanced driver assistance system development and chip design capabilities.
At the same time, Volkswagen Group plans to build 18,000 high-power charging piles in Europe and 17,000 fast charging terminals in China. It plans to build 1,800 fast charging stations and install 10,000 charging piles in the US and Canada by 2025. The construction of an energy supplement system can also provide the Volkswagen Group with a considerable amount of energy service income in the future, which is also an important part of Volkswagen's new business model.
It can be seen from the above that Volkswagen has carried out a comprehensive transformation through strategies such as changing the leadership model, reorganizing the brand, and adjusting performance appraisal.
In terms of product layout, software services are also the core of Volkswagen's layout; in terms of the extension of the industrial chain, energy services are a focus. These are all similar to Tesla.
However, the basis for achieving all this is the automobile market share. As the saying goes, "If the skin is not there, the hair will not be attached." Without the car as a carrier, how can we talk about services and energy supplements?
This is also the biggest challenge that traditional automobile manufacturers will face in the future. For the traditional automobile market, cars are the profit itself, but in the future automobile market, cars are just profit carriers.
Representative of new forces: Ideal Automobile
According to Li Auto’s financial report, Li Auto’s total revenue in 2023Q2 was 28.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 228.1%, and a month-on-month increase of 52.5%. Among them, automobile revenue was 27.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 229.7%, and a month-on-month increase of 52.6%.
Source: Ideal Auto Financial Report
In terms of profit, gross profit in 2023Q2 was RMB 6.235 billion, a year-on-year increase of 232% and a month-on-month increase of 62.8%. Gross profit margin reached 21.8%, a year-on-year increase of 0.3% and a month-on-month increase of 1.4%. Operating profit was RMB 1.626 billion, turning a loss into a profit year-on-year and a month-on-month increase of 147.4%. Operating profit margin is 5.6%. The company's net profit was 2.31 billion yuan, with a net profit margin of 8.1%.
In terms of cash flow, the net inflow of operating cash flow in 2023Q2 was RMB 11.112 billion, a month-on-month increase of 42.8%. Free cash flow of 9.621 billion yuan.
In terms of car delivery volume, 86,533 vehicles were delivered in Q2 2023, a year-on-year increase of 202% and a month-on-month increase of 65%. 52,584 vehicles were delivered in Q1, and a total of 139,117 vehicles were delivered in the first half of the year.
Source: Ideal Auto Financial Report
Judging from the above data, Li Auto's performance in the first half of 2023 is simply incredible, so good that it makes people jealous!
In particular, the gross profit margin actually bucked the trend and rose to as high as 21.8%, which has exceeded Tesla (18.2%).
How does Ideal do all this?
In terms of technical service needs, Li Auto provides users with extended-range hybrid power system solutions. Extended-range hybrid vehicles use an internal combustion engine to power a generator to drive the vehicle with electricity. The vehicle can replenish energy either directly through charging or through fuel-fired power generation.
Source: Guohai Securities
In addition, since extended-range models do not rely on charging infrastructure, users in third-tier cities and below are more receptive, making it easier to achieve channel penetration. As of the end of May 2023, the proportion of stores in ideal third-tier cities and below will reach 28%.
From an industry perspective, models currently using extended-range power systems include Huawei Wenjie, BYD, Great Wall, Geely and other models.
However, this power system has an obvious window period. This window period is from now until the popularity of charging piles and charging stations can meet user needs.
The market needs a critical point. If after several years of construction, the charging infrastructure is greatly improved and the battery life and charging problems of pure electric models are greatly alleviated, then the extended-range electric vehicles with "infinite battery life" as their selling point will have little use. . This is also the reason why Li Auto will launch a pure electric SUV.
From the perspective of product system, both the first-generation product Ideal ONE and the second-generation product L series are positioned as family cars. The first-generation product Ideal ONE targets the family large SUV segment, and the second-generation Ideal L series deeply explores the same market segment, continuing to evolve product settings based on key user needs. In the field of family car SUVs, it focuses on vehicle safety and driving comfort. , smart entertainment and three aspects have been upgraded.
At the same time, the model platform planning path is very clear : large single products are expanded to large category strategies; large families are positioned to cover small families; high-end products are extended to mainstream prices; and extended-range models are fully deployed to pure electric vehicles. Sort out the category image with benchmark products and seize market share with category combinations.
Source: Li Auto
In terms of the market, Li Auto's delivery system is closely coordinated with marketing releases, and is basically delivered as soon as it is released. The delivery time of L series products is controlled within 1-2 months after the press conference, and the interval is getting shorter and shorter. Efficient team operations have played a good role. According to the company's financial report, the average sales volume of a Li Auto store in 2023Q1 was 176 vehicles.
In terms of production capacity, the current peak is 7,500 vehicles/week, and it is expected that production of 10,000 vehicles/week will not be achieved until the fourth quarter. Then, that is a production capacity of 40,000 vehicles per month.
In terms of autonomous driving, at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 18, Ideal Auto officially released the Ideal Intelligent Driving 3.0 system. It is reported that Li Auto AD Max 3.0 is based on in-depth self-developed algorithms and autonomous driving data. Li Auto is committed to completely getting rid of dependence on high-precision maps. It can perceive, make decisions, and plan in real time like a human driver, thereby achieving autonomy in complex urban scenes. Passage.
Overall, the secret to Li Auto's success lies in its deep roots in the SUV market and its meticulous cultivation of every aspect from product, technology, marketing to delivery.
Therefore, for new forces, it is the best policy to choose a certain market segment and cultivate deeply.
Representative of new forces: Xiaopeng Motors
On August 18, 2023, Xiaopeng Motors released the second quarter and interim results of 2023, which is a closely watched financial report.
According to the financial report data, in 2023Q2, the total revenue of Xiaopeng Motors was 5.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 32%, and a month-on-month increase of 25.5%. Among them, automobile sales revenue was 4.42 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 36%, and a month-on-month increase of 26%.
Source: Xiaopeng Auto Financial Report
In terms of profit, the 2023Q2 gross profit loss was 200 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 124% and a month-on-month decrease of 394.5%. The gross profit margin is -3.9%, and the gross profit margin in the same period in 2022 is 10.9%.
Source: Xiaopeng Auto Financial Report
In terms of delivery volume, Xiaopeng Motors delivered 23,205 vehicles in the second quarter and 41,435 vehicles in the first half of the year.
In terms of cash flow, as of June 30, 2023, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments and time deposits were RMB 33.74 billion (USD 4.65 billion).
Judging from Xiaopeng Motors' self-rescue operations, Wang Fengying's joining is considered a key point. On January 30, Xpeng Motors officially announced the news of Wang Fengying’s joining. Wang Fengying will be fully responsible for Xpeng Motors’ product planning, product matrix and sales system.
Wang Fengying has rich experience in channel construction. She has experienced the start-up period of Great Wall Motors from 0 to 1 and has been the head of marketing for Great Wall Motors. She has practical experience from early sales network construction to subsequent expansion and management. This is exactly what Xpeng Motors urgently needs. Xpeng Motors' sales channels mainly consist of two models: direct sales and dealer agency. As a new force, it still lacks sufficient experience in channel management and expansion. It is reported that the sales channel reform has begun, and Xiaopeng will promote the channel sinking.
Another product that has high hopes is the new product: Xpeng G6. In June 2023, Xpeng G6 will be officially launched. Judging from the order status announced by Xiaopeng, one month after its launch, G6 orders have exceeded 40,000 units. However, there has been a bottleneck in the delivery of Xpeng G6, with only 3,900 units delivered in July. For Xpeng Motors, in order to get rid of the continued sluggish monthly delivery volume, it is particularly critical whether the delivery of G6 can keep up. He Xiaopeng said at the earnings conference call that by the fourth quarter, monthly delivery of G6 is expected to exceed 10,000.
In April 2023, Xpeng Motors released the SEPA 2.0 "Fuyao" global intelligent evolution architecture. With its support, Xpeng Motors will shorten the development cycle of future new models by 20%, and the commonality rate of parts based on the architecture can reach up to 80%, thereby achieving an overall improvement in efficiency.
At the same time, what gives the market hope is that on the evening of July 26, 2023, Volkswagen announced that it would increase its investment in Xpeng Motors by approximately US$700 million and acquire approximately 4.99% of Xpeng Motors' equity. After the transaction is completed, Volkswagen Group will receive an observer seat on the board of directors of Xpeng Motors. Volkswagen and Xpeng Motors have reached a technical framework agreement. The two parties plan to jointly develop two Volkswagen brand electric models for the Chinese mid-size car market as a supplement to the product portfolio based on the MEB platform, and plan to go to the market in 2026.
In fact, for Xpeng Motors, the most valuable thing about Volkswagen is its global sales network. However, judging from the current cooperation statement, Volkswagen has no intention to assist Xpeng in exploring overseas markets.
At Xpeng's Q2 financial results meeting, Chairman He Xiaopeng said that software-defined cars will become history, and the era of AI-defined cars has just begun. Next, a company-level "big intelligence" team for intelligent R&D, planning and operations will be established. Directly managed by He Xiaopeng himself, the team will unifiedly plan the development of intelligent assisted driving, intelligent cockpit, electronic and electrical architecture and multiple intelligent innovative technologies. It is expected that starting from the third quarter of this year, Xiaopeng Motors will enter an initial positive cycle of sales, brand and cash flow. Achieve the goal of reducing overall costs by 25% by the end of 2024.
In addition, from the perspective of industry development, the first half is dominated by electrification, the core driving force is closely related to energy batteries, the technical direction is mainly assisted driving, and the market mainly focuses on the verification of technology and the implementation of specific scenarios; the second half is dominated by intelligence. Mainly, the direction of efforts is mainly concentrated in the field of smart cockpit and autonomous driving, and smart cockpit is the strength of Xpeng Motors.
Looking at the above companies, Tesla is already on the road, advancing step by step towards the starry sea in Musk's heart; Volkswagen is still in the elephant turning stage, and its future is unclear; Ideal Car is on its own one-third of an acre of land. Working hard; where Xpeng Motors will go in the future, we are still waiting for the answer.
In July 2023, traditional car manufacturer Toyota announced that it had simplified the production process of materials used in solid-state battery manufacturing. If true, this will push solid-state batteries from the laboratory to mass production. Keiji Kaida, president of Toyota's Carbon Neutral R&D Center, said that Toyota is committed to changing the current situation of batteries that are too large, too heavy, and too expensive. Toyota has developed methods to improve battery durability and believes it can already produce cruising range. A solid-state battery with a range of 1,200 kilometers has a charging time of 10 minutes or less. It is reported that Toyota has also updated its roadmap for using "all-solid-state batteries" in new energy vehicles and hopes to produce solid-state batteries for BEV models in 2027 or 2028. According to statistics, although Toyota has a low market share in new energy vehicles, it owns a large number of solid-state battery patents. So, whether Toyota will use this to make a comeback remains to be seen.
However, it can be foreseen that the future automobile market will be turbulent and unpredictable. Who will have the last laugh is still uncertain.
Text: Qiqi / Data Ape
