XPeng’s GX SUV Racks Up 25,000 Orders in Half a Day, Even as First-Quarter Losses Pile Up

XPeng Q1 net loss widens to 1.78B yuan despite deliveries decline, but GX SUV orders surge 24,863 in 12 hours. Pivot to AI company, robotaxi, robotics. Q2 delivery guidance 100k-106k units.

XPeng has kicked off the second quarter with a bang — but the first quarter left a sour taste. The Chinese electric-vehicle maker unveiled its new GX flagship SUV on May 20, racking up 24,863 firm orders within twelve hours, with more than 80% of early buyers opting for the “Ultra” trim priced above 350,000 renminbi. That premium mix helped bolster the gross margin to 20.6% in the first quarter, even as total deliveries fell by a third year-on-year to 62,682 units.

The net loss for the January-to-March period widened to 1.78 billion yuan, a sharp reversal from the first-ever quarterly profit posted in the final three months of 2025. Revenue dropped to 13.03 billion yuan from 15.81 billion a year earlier, reflecting China’s seasonal market weakness. Executive-level costs also bit: the operating loss expanded to 1.87 billion yuan, driven by higher prices for memory chips and batteries.

Yet the financials tell only part of the story. XPeng has rebranded itself in China as “XPeng Group” rather than “XPeng Motors,” signaling a pivot far beyond carmaking. Chief executive He Xiaopeng described the transformation to a “Physical AI Company,” built on three pillars: the next-generation VLA 2.0 autonomous-driving system, global robotaxi commercialization, and humanoid robotics as a long-term growth bet.

The GX’s order book is the clearest evidence yet that the strategy is gaining traction. The six-seat, technology-heavy SUV is designed to anchor XPeng’s push upmarket, and the strong take rate for the highest-spec version provides reassurance that margins can hold up even as overall volumes fluctuate. The company ended the quarter with 42.09 billion yuan of cash on hand, which management said is earmarked for robotaxi pilots and humanoid-robot development.

On the technology front, XPeng’s in-house ADAS system has crossed a key threshold: in April, it was active for more than 50% of total kilometers driven, a milestone for its vision-language-action architecture. The system is now being tested in European markets as part of the company’s international push. Export deliveries hit 6,006 units in April, a 62% jump from the same month last year, and management expects overseas markets to contribute more than 20% of second-quarter revenue. The longer-term target is to ship over 10,000 vehicles abroad per month from the fourth quarter onward.

For the current quarter, XPeng guided for deliveries of 100,000 to 106,000 units, implying revenue of between 19.60 billion and 20.80 billion yuan — a sharp sequential recovery. The full-year goal remains ambitious at 550,000 to 600,000 deliveries, underpinned by four new models due in the second half.

At the close of trading, XPeng’s stock sat at €14.22, down roughly 18% since the start of the year. The equity remains more than 40% below its 52-week high from last November. The recent seven-day rally of around 6% has pushed the relative strength index to 77, signalling short-term overbought conditions. Analysts remain broadly bullish: the consensus price target stands at about $24.65, well above current levels. The coming weeks — particularly the pace of GX deliveries and the Q2 results — will test whether the operational turnaround can match the narrative shift.