He Xiaopeng and Luo Yonghao's 3-hour conversation: Revealing the reasons behind replacing over a dozen executives and recalling the darkest moments
He Xiaopeng asked Luo Yonghao to lead the flying car project but was rejected. The two had a three - hour conversation and told 13 hard truths.
According to Che Dongxi on August 26th, today, in the video podcast "Luo Yonghao's Crossroads", He Xiaopeng spent nearly three hours publicly disclosing a series of internal adjustments. Within more than a year, XPeng made personnel changes to more than a dozen senior executives, and 90% of front - line departments were adjusted.
Conversation between He Xiaopeng and Luo Yonghao
He Xiaopeng also responded to the "verbal fight" with Elon Musk, saying it was "due to information gaps". He also gave his judgment on the competition among car companies, stating that there may be only five Chinese car companies left in five years.
He also told many "hard truths", saying, "Many companies claim to have large revenue scales, but in fact, they include the revenues of joint - venture companies. There are few Chinese car companies that can guarantee sufficient profits. Selling a car for 60,000 - 70,000 yuan and only making 1,000 yuan is no different from selling scrap iron."
He Xiaopeng further previewed the design investment of the upcoming XPeng P7 and the release schedule of the flying car. According to him, the flying car project once wanted to invite Luo Yonghao to be the leader, but he declined for various reasons. The first - generation flying car will go on sale in the second half of next year, with a price of over one million yuan.
Overall, this conversation was extremely informative and full of valuable insights. Che Dongxi edited it without changing the original meaning.
01. Recalling the pain of XPeng's reform: More than a dozen senior executives were replaced in a year
In this interview, He Xiaopeng recalled the extremely painful internal transformation he had experienced and introduced many mistakes that corporate senior executives might make.
1. 90% of first - level departments were replaced, and more than a dozen core senior executives were removed
He Xiaopeng said that XPeng adjusted the positions of more than a dozen senior executives within more than a year, and about 90% of first - level departments were completely replaced.
He Xiaopeng introduces internal adjustment measures
He introduced, "At that time, the company faced great challenges. In the second quarter of last year, XPeng suffered heavy losses. It only sold more than 100 cars per day, only a few thousand cars per month. The monthly sales data of our partners was ten times that of ours."
XPeng's revenue in the second quarter of 2025 increased by 182% year - on - year
He Xiaopeng sighed, "When experiencing management pain, not changing means certain death. Changing may lead to survival, but if the change is not done well, it means quick death. One has to find the right rhythm."
He recalled, "For those employees I hoped would stay, I had dozens of meals with them and told the same thing to dozens of groups of people about how to save the company. But after so many meals, 30% of them still left."
2. The chairman must go to the front line. Many senior executives are wrong
When asked about XPeng's internal requirement for the chairman to go to the front line and act as the CEO, He Xiaopeng said that many senior executives or some entrepreneurs are making the same mistake today.
He said, "Many people think that when the company becomes stable, or grows large, or when they don't want to work so hard, they think they should find a group of capable people to do things for them, and they just need to set the direction."
He Xiaopeng said that such people may be the last to know the truth in the whole company.
He also shared his thoughts. First, he didn't want to work so hard. Second, he thought he should find a group of outstanding people. Third, he hoped the founders would work hard, and they also had the initiative.
02. Many car companies are actually selling scrap iron, and leading car companies are often targeted
When asked about the current competition in the automotive industry and its future outcome, He Xiaopeng pointed out that many car companies have difficulty achieving sufficient profits, and there is a tendency of malicious competition in the industry. The top - ranked car companies are easily targeted.
1. An AI car company needs to invest 50 billion yuan in R & D annually, but many companies are selling scrap iron
He Xiaopeng said in a previous interview that an AI car company needs to invest 50 billion yuan in R & D annually.
In this interview, He Xiaopeng further elaborated on this view. XPeng's business focuses on the physical world, including cars, autonomous vehicles, VLM, robots, and chips. Of the 50 billion yuan in R & D investment, about 30 billion yuan may be spent on AI, and 20 billion yuan on hardware and some other software. He believes this is a relatively conservative figure.
He Xiaopeng said that even if a car company invests 50 billion yuan in R & D annually, it needs to ensure an annual income of 500 billion yuan at least. This is calculated based on the R & D expense accounting for 10% of the revenue. Tesla's R & D investment accounts for less than 5%. Most technology companies' R & D investment accounts for 7% - 12%, so he took an average figure.
He Xiaopeng responds to the current market competition
He Xiaopeng said, "Many companies claim to have an income of 300 billion to 700 - 800 billion yuan. I think this is the gross revenue, which may include the revenues of joint - venture companies. Only self - owned business revenue is the net revenue. There are few Chinese car companies that can guarantee sufficient profits. Many companies seem to have large scales, but they are selling cars at 60,000 - 70,000 yuan per unit, making at most 1,000 yuan per car. Their gross profit and net profit may even be in the red. Isn't this like selling scrap iron?"
Moreover, He Xiaopeng further said that the key to maintaining high R & D investment cannot rely on financing. A company must have its own income, gross profit, and net profit to support this positive cycle.
2. It's a winner - takes - all game in the automotive industry. The top two are easily targeted
Why do car companies often invite the bosses of so - called "friendly companies" to their events? Why is this phenomenon rare in other industries?
He Xiaopeng said, "In the Internet industry, it was easy to end up with only two or three companies. But in the automotive industry, there may be 150 new competing models launched at a single auto show. Which industry has 150 competing products launched at one event every year?"
He also said that as long as a product ranks in the top one or two, it will be targeted by everyone.
He Xiaopeng responds that leading products are easily targeted by everyone
He said, "Others will magnify my flaws a hundred times, and they will also pick on non - existent problems. Because it's a real - life competition, and real money is at stake. So I think it's a winner - takes - all game in the automotive industry, but I don't like it."
He Xiaopeng said, "My business logic is not to initiate attacks. But if others attack me, I will fight back. If someone stabs me twice, I won't support them in the future."
3. Only five Chinese car companies may remain after the elimination round in five years, and no one has a guaranteed ticket
Regarding the elimination round in the automotive industry, He Xiaopeng responded, "I think the elimination round in the Chinese automotive industry will last about 3 - 5 years. Regarding the remaining Chinese players, each company founder may have different ideas. I may be more radical, thinking there will be about five. No company has a guaranteed ticket in advance. This is both a challenge and an opportunity."
03. He Xiaopeng respects Elon Musk from afar, saying the conflict was due to information gaps
When talking about competing companies, He Xiaopeng responded to his views on Elon Musk, Tesla's first domestic model, and Tesla Robotaxi. He also responded to the difference between XPeng's chip R & D strategy and NIO's.
1. Elon Musk is extremely awesome. We respect him from afar
When asked how he views Elon Musk?
He Xiaopeng said, "I think Elon Musk is someone I admire. I really like his technological fantasies. Just like our childhood dreams, although he often delays, he mostly achieves his goals. That's extremely awesome."
He Xiaopeng also explained the previous "verbal fight" with Musk, saying, "It was due to information gaps and various reasons. Now we respect each other from afar."
He Xiaopeng also recalled his first experience of driving a Tesla.
He said he was one of the first - batch owners of Tesla after its localization in China. Although he wasn't among the top ten owners, he was in the first batch.
He Xiaopeng responds to his first drive of a Model 3
At that time, He Xiaopeng was still driving a Land Rover. He recalled that he was deeply impressed by the Tesla. Compared with the Land Rover, the Tesla accelerated quickly, was very quiet, and had a very large screen. It also made him realize that listening to music in the car could be great, and he felt like he had opened a new door.
He Xiaopeng said he had an illusion at that time, thinking that it was possible to build a good car without spending ten or twenty years. And because of this illusion, he had the courage to do it.
2. Tesla Robotaxi is extremely radical, and XPeng's is not far behind
When talking about Tesla Robotaxi, He Xiaopeng said, "From a hardware perspective, I think it's extremely radical, but I think it can be quickly realized technically as long as the hardware and software redundancy are well - designed."
Tesla Robotaxi
He Xiaopeng also previewed that XPeng's Robotaxi is not far from its debut. A few vehicle manufacturers will soon enter this field. Of course, what XPeng wants to do is to make good tools, that is, to make good cars.
3. NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto are all working on chip computing power. XPeng is developing for multiple product lines
When talking about self - developed chips, He Xiaopeng introduced that NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto are all working on chip computing power.
NIO is working on autonomous driving computing power. XPeng is working on computing power for multiple product lines, also considering the in - car robot.
If the chip can cooperate closely with the software and algorithm teams, it may achieve the effect of the next - generation chip with the current - generation chip.
04. XPeng once invited Luo Yonghao to lead the flying car project, and it will go on sale in the second half of next year
He Xiaopeng also introduced the design story behind the new P7, revealed the launch plan of the flying car, and gave his judgment on the future of L4 autonomous driving.
1. Multiple design teams have been changed, and there are currently more than 400 designers
Regarding the P7, He Xiaopeng said that the XPeng P7 is a totem of XPeng, representing its genes. For this reason, XPeng has changed its internal design teams too many times.
The new XPeng P7
According to him, since last year, XPeng has made a large investment in its styling team. The industrial design team will have nearly 400 people this year, mainly based in Shanghai. There are both Chinese and many overseas employees, and the design leader is a European designer.
2. XPeng invited Luo Yonghao to lead the flying car project but was rejected. It will go on sale in the second half of next year
He Xiaopeng also introduced the business plan of the flying car. The first product will be launched next year and go on sale in the second half, with a price of over one million yuan. It will take 13 years from the establishment of the flying car team to the product launch.
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