XPeng (XPEV) expands service network ahead of EV sales in 3 new markets in Europe

Published

2 years ago

January 16, 2023

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Chinese EV automaker XPeng Motors has shared plans for four service and delivery centers coming the next few months that will soon serve customers in additional markets of Europe. Although the automaker has had a sales footprint in Norway for years, it has waited to begin EV sales in other markets in Europe. With the start of sales in three additional countries scheduled for this quarter, XPeng is implementing the proper network to support them.

Xiaopeng, or XPeng Motors ($XPEV), is a Chinese EV manufacturer founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Guangzhou. In 2018, XPeng launched the G3 SUV in China, followed by the P7 sedan in 2019. Next came the P5, which we were able to test drive alongside the P7 in the Netherlands – one of several markets in Europe the automaker set up an experience center ahead of official sales.

XPeng’s journey into Europe began in Norway with the P7, tallying the first deliveries in the summer of 2021. Not long after, the automaker began hyping up its next EV, the G9 SUV, which was also planned to eventually make its way to Europe alongside the P7 and P5.

By February 2022, XPeng announced retail agreements in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, with the intention of building brand recognition and understanding each market’s customer needs ahead of official sales. Before then, however, the automaker halted plans to bring the P5 overseas, citing export timeline issues.

Still, the P7 will see a 2023 refresh and will still be joined by the G9. With sales expected to begin in the NL, Sweden, and Denmark this quarter, XPeng has shared plans for the brick and mortar needed to achieve the customer service experience it has long been promising in Europe.

Source: XPeng Motors

XPeng bolsters network ahead of Q1 EV sales in Europe

According to XPeng Motors, Europe will see four company-branded service and delivery centers operational in the first half of this year. These physical locations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands will manage predelivery inspections, after-sales, and EV repairs.

XPeng customers in Europe will be able to take advantage of a service agreement with their EV purchase that includes an eight-year warranty for their respective vehicle’s battery. They’ll also have access to necessary EV information like servicing requirements and maintenance history.

These services, as well as tire storage, will soon be available at the upcoming service centers and drivers will be able to track their vehicle’s status using the automaker’s app. XPeng vice chairman and president, Brian Gu, spoke:

We’re establishing our first tier of XPeng Delivery and Service Centers in Europe to help realize our goal of creating a seamless yet unique XPeng customer journey, with customer experience at the heart of our offering.

Here is the current timeline for the new brick-and-mortar XPeng locations in Europe:

XPeng’s delivery and service center in Lørenskog, Norway, will open in February 2023.
The first delivery and service center in the Netherlands will be in Badhoevedorp. It should be completed in February and is expected to open for business in Q2 of 2023.
- The center will also serve as a training facility for external technicians and XPeng staff, and it will operate as a spare parts hub in Schiphol, helping reduce the waiting time for EU customers needing repairs and replacements.
XPeng’s center for Sweden will be in Stäket, Järfälla, and is expected to be completed by April and open by Q2 of 2023.
Denmark’s delivery and service center will be in Hillerød and is planned to open in May 2023.

In addition to these locations, the automaker already shared intentions to open a number of authorized service locations through dedicated partners from each of the EU countries. Additional locations will open across Europe by the end of 2023.

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Environment

Oil giant Saudi Aramco posts 15% drop in third-quarter profit but maintains dividend

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4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Oil giant Saudi Aramco posts 15% drop in third-quarter profit but maintains dividend

Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal

Ahmed Jadallah | Reuters

Saudi state oil giant Aramco reported a 15.4% drop in net profit in the third-quarter on the back of “lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins,” but maintained a 31.05 billion dividend.

The company reported net income of $27.56 billion in the July-September period, topping a company-provided estimate of $26.9 billion. The print is also a 5% drop from the previous quarter, which came in at $29.1 billion, as lower global oil prices, weaker demand and prolonged OPEC+ production cuts led by Saudi Arabia continue to impact crude prices.

The average selling price of oil for the second quarter of 2024 stood at $85 per barrel, but dropped to $78.7 per barrel during the third quarter, according to Saudi-based bank Al Rajhi capital, as non-OPEC supply volumes grew.

The oil firm said its year-on-year decline was partly offset by a “reduction in selling, administrative and general expenses primarily driven by a gain from derivative instruments, and a decrease in production royalties largely reflecting lower crude oil prices and a lower average effective royalty rate compared to the same quarter last year.”

Aramco’s dividend includes a base payout of $20.3 billion and an atypical performance-linked one of $10.8 billion. The Saudi government and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, are the main beneficiaries of the dividend, holding stakes of roughly 81.5% and 16% in the company.

The remaining shareholding trades freely on Saudi Arabia’s Tadāwul stock exchange, with the company having finalized its second public share offering back in June.

Aramco’s earnings before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) came in at $51.45 billion in the third quarter, down 17% year-on-year. Aramco’s capital expenditure guidance was brought up 20% to $13.23 billion.

The company was trading at 27.45 riyals following the announcement, down 0.18% on the previous day.

The earnings align with a broader trend across oil majors, whose third-quarter profits have also suffered from declines in crude prices and refining margins. Aramco said it achieved average realized crude price of $79.3 per barrel in the third quarter, compared with $89.3 per barrel in the same period of last year.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter who produces roughly 9 million barrels per day of crude at present, serves as the de facto leader of the OPEC+ oil producers’ alliance, a subset of whom agreed over the weekend to delay a planned December output hike by one month.

OPEC chief says delayed December output hike is 'nothing unusual'

“Aramco delivered robust net income and generated strong free cash flow during the third quarter, despite a lower oil price environment,” CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement. “We also progressed our upstream developments, strengthened our downstream value chain, and advanced our new energies program as we continue to invest through cycles.”

The revenues will be a boon to the Saudi economy, which is currently undergoing a diversification process under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s legacy Vision 2030 scheme spanning a slew of high-cost infrastructure “gigaprojects.”

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance cut the kingdom’s growth forecast to 0.8% in 2024, in a steep decline from a previous projection of 4.4%, and raised the outlook for the national budgetary shortfall to roughly 2.9% of GDP, from a prior indication of 1.9%.

Environment

Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

Published

10 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

On today’s episode of Quick Charge, Tesla’s Cybertruck is now available in Canada – and, like in the US, there’s no waiting! Plus, we’ve got an “actually” smart summon Tesla that’s actually stuck, GM reaches a sales milestone, and we get a brand-new title sponsor!

Today’s episode is the first with our new title sponsor, BLUETTI – a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems.

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Environment

This ‘supercharger on wheels’ brings fast charging to you [update]

Published

12 hours ago

November 4, 2024

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This 'supercharger on wheels' brings fast charging to you [update]

Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”

November 4, 2024 update: Yoshi Mobility will only be charging EVs on the side of the road now – it announced today that it’s selling its fleet fueling operation to EZFill Holdings (Nasdaq: EZFL).

It was originally founded as a direct-to-consumer, mobile fueling business in 2016, but now it’s going to focus on mobile EV charging, virtual vehicle inspections for partners like Uber and Turo, and onsite preventative maintenance.

Bryan Frist, Yoshi Mobility’s CEO & cofounder, said, “By spinning off our fuel business and focusing all of our energy on solving hair-on-fire problems that fleet owners face, we are meeting the changing needs of enterprise customers while making the future of transportation safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.”

May 22, 2024: Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.

“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.

The company says its 240 kW mobile DC fast charger, which can turn “any EV” into a mobile charging unit, is the first fully electric mobile charger available. It can provide multiple charges in a single trip but doesn’t detail how they charge the DC fast charger or who manufactured it. (I asked for more details, and they replied that they won’t disclose client names or the manufacturer of its DC fast charger yet.)

Yoshi is launching its mobile charger on two GM BrightDrop Zevo 600s and will introduce additional vehicles throughout 2024. It aims for full commercialization by Q1 2025. (I wonder if the Zevo 600 ever charges itself? Yes, I asked that too.)

Yoshi Mobility says it’s already deployed its EV charging solutions to service “major OEMs, autonomous vehicle companies, and rideshare operators” across the US. Its initial customers are made up of large EV operators managing “hundreds” of light-duty vehicles requiring up to 1 megawatt of energy per day that don’t yet have grid-connected EV chargers. I’ve asked Yoshi for details of who it’s working with, and will update if they share that info.

The company says pricing is based on location and enterprise charging needs. Once under contract for service, the service will be deployed to US-based customers within 10 days.

To date, Yoshi Mobility has raised more than $60 million, with investments from GM Ventures, Bridgestone, ExxonMobil, and Y-Combinator in Silicon Valley.

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