In the last month of 2017, the new forces of car-making once again stood in the center of the stage, each showing its production cars and embracing the arrival of 2018. Up to now, only Xpeng Motors has gradually delivered its production cars to friendly users inside and outside. Although it is version 1.0 production cars at this stage, the speed struggle of the new car-making forces has come to the fore.
On December 28th, Xpeng Motors official WeChat launched an internal letter from He Xiaopeng, Chairman of Xpeng Motors, to all Tucki students.
In the letter, He Xiaopeng recounted his heartthrob during his four months in office, saying with great vigour that "starting a business is addictive, and the feeling of pushing forward is inexhaustible", and "I hope all my classmates will throw their gasoline cars into the garage and open more Internet electric cars designed and produced by ourselves", and that "we, classmates and friends are scrambling to buy good products" when building cars.
He Xiaopeng summarized and updated Xpeng Motors’s development in financing, senior management and team building, R&D and manufacturing layout, brand marketing, etc., and revealed for the first time that the listed models will make their world debut at CES show in the United States in January next year, and the specific configuration and price will also be announced next spring.
The main contents are arranged as follows according to He Xiaopeng’s internal letter:
A+ round of financing is over, and B round of financing is announced soon.
Xpeng Motors will complete financing of about 5 billion yuan before the Spring Festival this year. He Xiaopeng thinks that the company’s financing efficiency/input-output ratio is absolutely the first in the industry. He said that the current financing does not include intangible values such as land and policies. Early next year, Xpeng Motors will announce the second round of financing to show its strength.
A number of executives will be introduced in the first quarter of next year.
Xpeng Motors announced a number of senior executives to join this year, especially Xiong Qingyun, former senior vice president of JD.COM and president of P&G Greater China Meishang Division, Gu Junli, former core expert of Tesla’s artificial intelligence dream team and leader of Autopilot autopilot, and Liu Minghui, former vice president of FAW Technology Research Institute, received wide attention. At present, the team is merging old and new. He Xiaopeng said that co-founders Henry and He Tao will continue to be the mainstay of the company.
R&D and manufacturing layout
He Xiaopeng said that the number of employees in Xpeng Motors has nearly tripled since August, reaching nearly 1,000, with product research and development accounting for more than 70%. In 2018, nearly 2,000 people will continue to be added. The company has established branches in Beijing and Silicon Valley. In mid-2018, Guangzhou R&D headquarters will officially move into a new intelligent park located in the center of Guangzhou, which is nearly 50,000 square meters.
Xpeng Motors Intelligent Networking Science and Technology Industrial Park laid the foundation stone in Zhaoqing on December 11th, with a total area of 3,000 mu, of which the vehicle production project covers an area of 1,500 mu, with an investment of 10 billion yuan. The first phase of the project is expected to have an annual output of 200,000 vehicles after completion.
The configuration and price of listed models will be announced next spring.
He Xiaopeng revealed in the letter that the production version of Xpeng Motors 2.0 is planned to go on the market next spring, and the specific configuration and price will be announced. The listed models have greatly improved in face value, cruising range, quality and automatic driving compared with version 1.0, and they are confident to benchmark, and even quite a few of them exceed more than 400,000 electric vehicles on the market.
Brand and marketing
He Xiaopeng emphasized that the target group in Xpeng Motors is young people, not "exclusive to a few people", and should be a car for many people. He mentioned that automatic parking in Xpeng Motors should cover most scenes.
Regarding brand and marketing, he announced that "the work of marketing brand has begun, and Xpeng Motors will never miss your 2018".
He Xiaopeng mentioned in an interview before that building a good car is only the first step for Xpeng Motors. In the letter, he once again made it clear that Xpeng Motors "hopes to become a global smart travel operator and a large-scale manufacturer" and "should complete the closed loop and integration of hardware, software, data, services and the whole operating system".
The full text is as follows:
Students in Xpeng Motors,
Entrepreneurship is addictive, and the sense of pushing forward is inexhaustible.
Some people say that driving is like choosing a life. In life, you should choose the right person and the right car. We have chosen the right road together, and all that remains is to be a good car that everyone likes, a good car that we, our family, classmates, colleagues and friends want to drive.
Our first model, David1.0, will be delivered to you in large quantities, which is the first one that can be delivered in batches by all new car-making companies. It is really not easy. From the static display car to the dynamic licensing car, the difficulties in the middle and the long-term beyond my previous imagination, thank you for your joint efforts in 2017!
But delivery is just the beginning of iteration and operation. After that, I hope all students will throw gasoline cars into the garage, drive more Internet electric cars designed and produced by ourselves, experience more and make more suggestions, so as to lay a better foundation for the 2.0 scale delivery next year! As I said before, people who don’t drive electric cars can’t make good electric cars; People who don’t drive luxury cars can’t make good quality; People who don’t do the internet can’t design the application and service system of the internet; People who don’t drive Tesla don’t know what unmanned driving is. All students must experience and feel for themselves.
We should use our youth to build a good car different from other cars.
Tucki used to be our name; Now, Tucki is the brand of Internet cars. Young name, extraordinary dream. Many former "new" names have become great "old" brands. We believe that using our own name is the greatest confidence and sincerity.
2017 has passed quickly, and 2018 is coming to us. After I officially took office in Xpeng Motors on August 29th, I would like to share with you the recent progress, although it is still a short period of four months.
1. The A+ round of financing is over, and the B round of financing will be announced soon.
We will complete the financing of about 5 billion yuan before the Chinese New Year this year. Although we can only rank second in this year’s financing competition, I want to proudly tell you that our efficiency/input-output ratio is absolutely the first in the industry. What’s more, these financing does not include more intangible values such as land and policies. Intelligent manufacturing is an industry that strives for efficiency and endurance. I believe that we will have faster and greater development next year with more resources injected!
On December 15th, we announced the end of three rounds of A+ financing, and Alibaba Group and nine top VCs joined our investor team. We have not only received funds, but also our present situation, our direction and our growth potential have passed the audit representing the highest level in the world.
At the beginning of next year, we will announce the B round of financing. Please witness the strength of Pengyou Circle.
Second, the dream team will continue to be pleasantly surprised.
It feels great to dig two high p’s almost every week. We have been keeping this rhythm. Laura, Jun Li and Liu Bo have officially joined. Henry, He Tao and old classmates are still our mainstay. The announcement of the Xpeng Motors Dream Team will not stop the surprise. In the first quarter of next year, there will be many high P’s joining Xpeng Motors.
Since I took office, the number of employees in Xpeng Motors has nearly tripled, reaching nearly 1,000, and the proportion of product research and development is over 70%. Next year, we will welcome nearly 2,000 new colleagues. We look forward to all students’ efforts to recommend like-minded colleagues and friends to join Xpeng Motors. We have established branches in Beijing and Silicon Valley. In mid-2018, Guangzhou R&D headquarters will bid farewell to the accelerator park and officially move into a new intelligent park located in the downtown area of nearly 50,000 square meters.
Xpeng Motors Intelligent Networking Science and Technology Industrial Park has laid the foundation stone in Zhaoqing on December 11th, with a total area of 3,000 mu, of which the vehicle production project covers an area of 1,500 mu with an investment of 10 billion yuan. It is estimated that the first phase of the project will achieve an annual output of 200,000 vehicles.
Third, the configuration and price of listed models will be announced next spring.
Our production version 2.0 is about to appear at the CES show in America. 2.0 will be launched next spring, and its face value, cruising range, quality and automatic driving will be greatly improved. It can definitely be benchmarked, and quite a few of them can surpass more than 400,000 electric vehicles on the market. The specific configuration and price will be announced next year.
Behind Xpeng Motors’s speed is not only the students’ devotion in the past year, but also the product of high-level cross-border collision and integration, and the result of efficient iteration of super product manager’s thinking. Efficient and extreme is our culture, and efficient and extreme is our speed. In the cusp of great changes in the Internet and AI, running is the speed of people, and we must have the speed of science and technology.
Fourth, the brand and marketing are ready to go
Xpeng Motors wants to build a different Internet car for young people. Being young is critical of face value, the rapid iterative action of products, the scientific and technological strength of others, and the courage to face innovation and change.
Xpeng Motors is not exclusive to a few people, and Xpeng Motors has to run on the road of many people. We should let the intelligent networking function of automobiles leave the conceptual stage, and let automatic parking cover most scenes. We should complete the closed loop and integration of hardware, software, data, services and the whole operating system. Xpeng Motors’s expectation is global smart travel operators and large manufacturers.
Our brand marketing work has begun, and Xpeng Motors will never miss your 2018.
After turning into the automobile field from the Internet, I found that there are too many words in the automobile field that are too good, but they are too bad. I think Cook once said that in the hardware field, it is "Easy to Say, Hard to do". At the just-concluded Guangzhou Auto Show, many cars said they were smart connected cars, and many cars said they had many smart configurations, but this was not the case at all. Win in the pattern, lose in the details, as Xpeng Motors said, we should try our best to do it well. We don’t skip tickets, we don’t cheat, we have to do well. This requires all our classmates to work harder and struggle in 2018! We should try our best to make good products that our classmates and friends are scrambling to buy!
Thank the students for their all-out efforts and the time when we fought side by side.
Wish us a new year, teenagers are not old, and dreams come true!
