Yitan: Each has its own highlights and hidden concerns, and the differentiation of "Wei Xiaoli" is intensifying
- Insight into Automotive Financial Reports
In the first half of the year, Ideal won the championship in revenue, net profit, gross profit, and sales volume; Although NIO has the largest net loss, it is the most willing to spend money on research and development, investing over 6 billion yuan; Xiaopeng's revenue is not ideal, but its advantage lies in its rapid growth rate. Not only has its net loss significantly narrowed, but its gross profit margin has also turned from negative to positive.
The semi annual reports of "Weixiaoli" each have their own highlights, but the differentiation between them is showing an increasing trend. The three companies have already been divided into three tiers, and the hidden concerns behind this are worth being vigilant about. Although the net profit attributable to the parent company remains positive, it has almost halved compared to the same period last year; High losses and insufficient profitability are still important issues that NIO needs to face; And lower than expected sales have become an important constraint for Xiaopeng.
Huawei, Xiaomi and other tech giants are siphoning off market traffic, while Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue and Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun are "addicted" to live broadcasts. China's automobile production and sales volume, new energy vehicle penetration rate, and domestic brand passenger car market share have repeatedly reached new highs... In 2024, the Chinese automobile market is bustling, and as car companies engage in close combat, the market landscape quietly changes.
With the arrival of the financial reporting season, listed car companies have shown off their "performance reports" one after another. Among them, some car companies are experiencing a "win-win" situation in terms of revenue and net profit, some are "increasing revenue without increasing profits", some are "making a profit by losing money", and some are experiencing a "double decline" in revenue and net profit... Amidst the uneven distribution of hot and cold, car companies are accelerating their differentiation and jointly demonstrating the "dual sky" of the automotive industry.
In 2024, NIO and Xiaopeng Motors will enter their "ten-year standing", and Ideal Auto will also enter its ninth year. On September 5th, with the release of NIO's Q2 2024 performance announcement, the top domestic car making new force "NIO Xiaoli" and three other semi annual reports all appeared, and the former "entrepreneurial brothers" once again competed on the same stage.
Among them, Ideal has won the championship in revenue, net profit, gross profit, and sales volume; Although NIO has the largest net loss, exceeding 10 billion yuan, it is the most willing to spend money on research and development, investing 6.083 billion yuan; Xiaopeng's revenue is not ideal, but its advantage lies in its rapid growth rate. Not only has its net loss significantly narrowed, but its gross profit margin has also reversed significantly from negative to positive.
Each with its own highlights
Comparing the core data of the three financial reports horizontally, in terms of revenue, Ideal Automobile reached 57.312 billion yuan in the first half of this year, which is twice that of NIO and nearly four times that of Xiaopeng, forming a far ahead trend. In contrast, Xiaopeng's revenue of 14.66 billion yuan ranks last among the three companies, but its growth momentum is the strongest, with a year-on-year increase of 61.20%.
The strong lead in revenue also allowed Ideal to achieve a net profit of 1.692 billion yuan, continuing to hold the title of being the first and only to achieve profitability among new car making forces. By comparison, NIO and Xiaopeng are still in a loss making state. Among them, NIO's net loss was 10.384 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.95% compared to the same period last year's 10.9 billion yuan; Xiaopeng's net loss was 2.65 billion yuan, a significant decrease of 48.44% compared to the same period last year's 5.14 billion yuan.
Screenshot of Xiaopeng Motors' 2024 interim performance announcement
In terms of sales, Ideal sold 188981 new cars in the first half of the year, which is 2.2 times and 3.6 times that of NIO and Xiaopeng respectively, still leading by a cliff; NIO has achieved a leading sales growth rate, with a year-on-year increase of 60.20% to 87426 vehicles; The cumulative sales of Xiaopeng are only 52028 units, compared to Ideal's monthly sales of 51000 units in July this year.
It is worth mentioning that NIO's second brand, Ledao, is already on the verge of success, and Xiaopeng's groundbreaking work MONA M03 in the past 10 years has also launched a comprehensive attack. The two are entering the second half of the year with strong competition, which may bring a new wave of growth to the brand.
In terms of gross profit, the ideal overall gross profit of 20% is the highest, while Xiaopeng's significant improvement from -1.4% in the same period last year to 13.5% is the most remarkable. In addition, both Ideal and NIO have invested over 6 billion yuan in research and development. Although Xiaopeng ranks third with 2.817 billion yuan, the proportion of research and development investment is not small compared to its revenue scale.
There are no shortage of hidden worries
Overall, "Weixiaoli" has shown outstanding performance in the first half of the year, but the differentiation between them has intensified. The three companies have already been divided into three tiers, and their respective hidden concerns are worth being vigilant about.
Screenshot of Ideal Automotive 2024 Mid term Report
In terms of ideals, although it won the "four material" championship in the first half of the year, it is not without worries: its revenue ranks first among the three companies, but its year-on-year growth rate is the smallest; The net profit attributable to the parent company is positive, but the year-on-year sharp decline is almost halved... The reason for this is that, on the one hand, the first pure electric model failed to make a splash, and Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Ideal Automobile, even fell silent for a period of time as a result; The refreshed L series also did not achieve the expected results. On the other hand, the relatively low-end product Ideal L6 has gradually become a sales force, terminal discounts caused by price wars, and the expansion of sales and service networks, all of which have contributed to the dilution of Ideal Profit.
For NIO, high losses and insufficient profitability remain important issues facing the company. NIO's revenue in the first half of the year increased by 40.65% year-on-year, reaching 27.355 billion yuan, showing a strong growth momentum. However, in the face of losses exceeding 10 billion yuan, its role was minimal. In addition, NIO's gross profit margin is only 7.96%, which is not only far below ideal, but also lagging behind Xiaopeng, which has just achieved a positive gross profit margin.
By comparison, lower than expected sales have become one of the important factors hindering the development of Xiaopeng. In the first half of the year, Xiaopeng's cumulative sales were only 52000 units. Based on the data from January to August, Xiaopeng's cumulative sales volume is only 77000 units, while Ideal and NIO have already exceeded 280000 and 120000 units respectively; In addition, Xiaopeng's sales growth rate of 17% is also far behind Ideal and NIO's 38.4% and 35.77%.
However, it is worth looking forward to the launch of MONA M03, which may bring new vitality to the brand. Starting from the launch of MONA M03 in August, we have entered a strong product cycle and a period of rapid development. From now until the end of 2026, we will have multiple competitive new products and models intensively launched, "said He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Motors
