On June 6, NIO announced its first-quarter financial report for 2024. At this point, the first-quarter financial reports of the four listed companies among the mainstream new auto manufacturing forces - NIO, Li Auto, XPeng, and Leapro - have all been released. Next, let's take a look at the specific situations of these four companies.

Li Auto

In the first quarter, Li Auto achieved total revenue of 25.6 billion yuan, an increase of 36.4% year-on-year but a decrease of 38.6% quarter-on-quarter. Net profit was 591 million yuan, down 36.7% year-on-year and 89.7% quarter-on-quarter. Adjusted net profit was 1.3 billion yuan, down 9.7% year-on-year and 72.2% quarter-on-quarter. The gross margin remained above 20%, at 20.6%, but declined by 2.9% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. From the perspective of the entire industry, Li Auto's first-quarter financial report showed strong resilience. However, compared to itself, Li Auto's revenue in the first quarter ended the myth of maintaining consecutive quarterly revenue growth since the third quarter of 2022.

The decline in sales was the direct reason for Li Auto's 38.6% quarter-on-quarter drop in revenue in the first quarter. According to official data, Li Auto sold a total of 80,400 new vehicles in the first quarter of this year, with a quarter-on-quarter drop of 39%, failing to continue the sales growth trend from the second to fourth quarters of last year. In addition to objective factors such as the market cooling during the Spring Festival, the decline in Li Auto's sales was closely related to the failure of the pure electric MEGA model. In early March, shortly after its launch, MEGA was widely criticized for associating its rear design with the taboo of white funerals in China, directly affecting its sales and even Li Auto's overall sales. Subsequently, Li Auto lowered its annual delivery target of 800,000 vehicles and announced at the first-quarter financial report conference call that "it will not release the remaining three pure electric SUV models this year, but instead release them in the first half of 2025." After delaying the release of pure electric models, Li Auto refocused its attention on the L series models. The recently launched Li Auto L6 in April has achieved good delivery results, and it is expected that Li Auto's revenue and profit in the second quarter will increase.

XPeng Motors

In the first quarter, XPeng Motors' total revenue was 6.55 billion yuan, an increase of 62.3% year-on-year but a decrease of 49.8% quarter-on-quarter. The net loss for the period was 1.37 billion yuan, significantly narrower compared to the 2.34 billion yuan in the same period of 2023 and roughly the same as the 1.35 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2023. In terms of gross margin, XPeng Motors' overall gross margin for the first quarter of 2024 was 12.9%, an increase of 11.2% year-on-year and 6.7% quarter-on-quarter. The gross margin per vehicle for the period was 5.5%, turning positive compared to the same period last year and improving by 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. As for sales, XPeng Motors sold a total of 21,800 new vehicles in the first quarter, an increase of 19.7% year-on-year. While the year-on-year growth rate seems optimistic, it is based on the low base of only 18,200 vehicles sold by XPeng Motors in the first quarter of last year. From an investor's perspective, XPeng Motors' first-quarter sales figures did not give investors sufficient confidence.

Interestingly, although XPeng Motors saw significant year-on-year growth in key indicators such as sales, total revenue, and gross margin in the first quarter, its overall delivery volume did not increase significantly, and the decline from the previous quarter was significant. Correspondingly, revenue also declined significantly, while gross margin was almost 13 times higher than the same period last year. These signs indicate that in addition to its main business of manufacturing and selling cars, XPeng is also involved in a highly profitable "side business." This "side business" is the collaboration between Volkswagen and XPeng. In February this year, Volkswagen and XPeng entered into a strategic technical cooperation on platforms and software. Through this service alone, XPeng earned 1 billion yuan from Volkswagen. This also shows that income from software technical services is becoming an important part of XPeng's total revenue. In the future, XPeng may earn more "side income" through technology exports.

NIO

In the first quarter of this year, NIO achieved total revenue of 9.909 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.2% year-on-year and a significant drop of 42.1% quarter-on-quarter. The net loss was 5.185 billion yuan, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year but a decrease of 3.4% quarter-on-quarter. The gross margin was 4.9%, compared to 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023. With both revenue and net profit declining, NIO's survival situation is even more dire compared to Li Auto and XPeng. Sales were a direct factor behind NIO's poor financial performance. From January to March this year, NIO sold a total of 30,053 new vehicles, down 3.2% year-on-year and 39.9% quarter-on-quarter. At the same time, NIO continued to maintain high investments in sales, research and development, and administration. This led to NIO's high losses, reaching 5.18 billion yuan, making it the company with the largest losses among the "NIO, Li Auto, XPeng" trio of new auto manufacturing forces. Such high losses have persisted for six years, and this year marks the seventh consecutive year of losses for NIO.

As a high-end pure electric brand focusing on services, NIO sells fewer vehicles but invests more. To address this challenge, NIO has embarked on a path of coordinated development with multiple brands. On May 15, NIO officially launched a new smart electric vehicle brand called Ledao Motors, along with its first model, the Ledao L60. Ledao Motors primarily targets the market segment above 200,000 yuan and can help NIO share some of the sales pressure. At the first-quarter financial report conference call, NIO's founder Li Bin revealed news about a third brand called "Firefly." This brand primarily targets the price range of over 100,000 yuan and faces a broader consumer group. With the collective efforts of the three brands, NIO's sales are expected to experience explosive growth.

Leapro Motors

In the first quarter, Leapro Motors achieved revenue of 3.486 billion yuan, an increase of 141.7% year-on-year but a decline of 33.9% quarter-on-quarter. The net loss was 1.013 billion yuan, compared to 1.133 billion yuan in the same period last year and 955 million yuan in the previous quarter. In terms of sales, Leapro Motors sold 33,410 vehicles in the first quarter, an increase of 217.9% year-on-year. Although both total revenue and sales in the first quarter achieved significant year-on-year growth, Leapro Motors still has not shaken off its loss-making situation. The financial report showed that Leapro Motors' gross margin in the first quarter was -1.4%, falling back into negative territory. It was -7.8% in the same period of 2023 and 6.7% in the previous quarter. Affected by the round of "price wars" in the automotive market, in January this year, Leapro Motors introduced limited-time purchase incentives for its C11, C01, T03, and other models, with discounts of up to 17,000 yuan. This was also an important factor behind the decline in Leapro Motors' gross margin in the first quarter. However, while price cuts are a market trend, they are not a long-term solution. In future market competition, finding the balance between price and profit is a key consideration for Leapro Motors. In addition to the domestic market, Leapro Motors has also established "Leapro International" in collaboration with the Stellantis Group to develop overseas markets and has achieved initial success. According to the plan, in the next three years, Leapro International will launch at least one new model each year. With efforts in both domestic and overseas markets, Leapro Motors' market position and sales scale may reach new heights.

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