From direct sales to a dealer model, has the reform promoted by Wang Fengying solved Xiaopeng’s real problems?

At the beginning of June, new energy vehicle manufacturers released their results. Xpeng Motors delivered 10,146 vehicles in May, a year-on-year increase of 35%; from January to May, it delivered 41,360 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 26%.

It seems like a good report card, at least it has maintained rapid growth. But in fact, in the first five months, Xpeng Motors only achieved 14.7% of its annual sales target for 2024. To achieve the sales target of 240,000 vehicles, Xpeng Motors needs to deliver about 30,000 vehicles per month in the remaining seven months.

In the first five months of this year, Xpeng Motors could not even guarantee an average of 10,000 vehicles per month, so it is highly likely that it will not achieve its sales target for 2024. At the same time, Xpeng Motors has not yet gotten out of the quagmire of losses.

Sales volume is the most core indicator for evaluating the operating conditions of an automobile manufacturer; but it should be noted that sales volume is sometimes also affected by Meitu XiuXiu, just like the difference between plain filter and beautified filter.

The sales growth of Xpeng Motors is generally believed in the industry to be related to the "Jupiter Project" launched by Wang Fengying, President of Xpeng Motors.

Wang Fengying is a veteran of Great Wall Motors, and her position in Great Wall Motors is similar to that of Sun Yafang of Huawei. In July 2022, Wang Fengying suddenly resigned from Great Wall Motors, where she had worked for more than 30 years, and in January 2023, she became the president of Xiaopeng Motors, responsible for the company's product planning and marketing.

Soon after Wang Fengying joined the company, she launched the "Jupiter Project", the main purpose of which was to transform the sales network, in simple terms, from a direct-sale store to a dealer model. It was also from this moment that Xiaopeng's sales began to steadily increase.

Does Wang Fengying have some magic? Obviously not, because under the dealer model, the manufacturer will require them to reserve a certain amount of inventory in advance, and as long as these cars leave the factory, they will be counted as sales of the brand. As for how long the dealers can sell them, that is their own business.

Take Xiaopeng Motors as an example. It requires dealers to reserve half of their sales target as inventory, which is equivalent to transferring the pressure of sales and funds to dealers. As the scale of Xiaopeng Motors dealers expands, it is not difficult for its new cars to create beautiful sales data in a short period of time by stockpiling inventory after they are launched.

Xpeng Motors' first-quarter financial report for 2024 showed that its gross profit margin increased significantly to 12.9%, 11.2% higher than the same period last year. At the same time, Xpeng Motors' cash reserves also increased to 41.4 billion yuan.

The effect of Wang Fengying's Jupiter Project can be said to be immediate.

But the problem is that such growth is more like a numbers game. In May 2024, Xpeng Motors' six main models achieved sales of just over 10,000 units, with no single model selling more than 2,500 units.

In the domestic new energy market, models that cannot even reach 3,000 units per month can be said to have been "marginalized." Considering the phenomenon of "stock pressure" under the dealer model, the actual situation may be even worse.

Take Xiaopeng X9 as an example. The sales volume of this car reached 3,946 units in March, but dropped to 1,959 units in April, and then dropped to 1,625 units in May, proving that its sales volume is not stable and its product performance has not been recognized by users.

Now it can be said that He Xiaopeng may have overestimated the impact of Wang Fengying's joining on Xiaopeng Motors. Wang Fengying was better at product planning and marketing at Great Wall, and she is also responsible for the same work at Xiaopeng, but the biggest problem of Xiaopeng Motors is not in marketing, but in product planning.

In terms of marketing, in the past few months, Wang Fengying has not brought any new "personality" to Xiaopeng Motors; whether Xiaopeng Motors adopts a direct sales model or a dealer model has little to do with consumers.

In terms of products, Xiaopeng Motors has only launched one new car this year, the Xiaopeng X9, and its sales have been gradually declining. There is no new product planning, no increase in the speed of new car launches, and no black technology.

In fact, this situation is not surprising. The new forces in the domestic car industry are currently divided into two distinct echelons. Ideal and NIO are in the first echelon. Ideal has an extended-range electric vehicle and is positioned as a "super daddy car", while NIO has a high-end positioning and battery replacement services. The second echelon of Xpeng, Leapmotor, and Nezha actually do not have a clear brand positioning.

Without sales volume, personalized marketing, and superior core technology, it is difficult for such new forces to maintain themselves. Marketing and channel reform are based on product strength. If the product performance is strong, it can be sold directly or through dealers. If you are a bad bird, you will not be able to sing a beautiful song no matter what cage you are in.

It can be said that it is difficult for Wang Fengying to solve Xiaopeng's current problems. This is not a problem of single ability, but a systematic and structural problem of Xiaopeng. She may be able to catch a few "insiders" who take kickbacks from the supply chain, and may be able to win over more dealers, but it is unlikely that she can create a truly popular model for Xiaopeng Motors. Judging from the current situation, she does not have the courage of Yu Chengdong.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with optimizing the marketing network; but while strengthening its marketing capabilities, Xiaopeng Motors should still focus its main energy on the product level. It needs to launch high-performance models that can truly be recognized by users, rather than medium and large MPVs like the Xiaopeng X9 that are destined to be a niche. As the old saying goes: there is not much time left for Xiaopeng.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.