XPeng readies three strategies to achieve annual sales target of 550,000-600,000 units | Exclusive from 36Kr

He Xiaopeng, Chairman of XPeng Motors

Text | Xiao Man

Editors | Li Qin, Yang Xuan

36Kr Auto has learned that XPeng Motors recently set its sales target for 2026 at the internal strategic meeting. The annual sales volume is expected to reach 550,000 - 600,000 vehicles. This represents an increase of approximately 28.1% - 39.7% compared to the 429,400 vehicles delivered in 2025, meaning that its average monthly delivery needs to be increased to over 45,800 - 50,000 vehicles.

2026 is a product - rich year for XPeng to start the "one - car, dual - function" layout. He Xiaopeng once revealed that in 2026, XPeng will launch seven "one - car, dual - function" models with super extended - range configurations, including three super extended - range products and four new "one - car, dual - function" models. As of now, XPeng has released several extended - range models, including the XPeng X9, XPeng P7+, and XPeng G7.

36Kr Auto has learned from the supply chain that the four new models to be launched are the XPeng G01, XPeng G02, and two SUVs of the XPeng Mona series, D02 and D03, all of which are SUV models.

The XPeng G01 is a luxury 6 - seat SUV with a length of 5.1 meters and a wheelbase of 3 meters. The G02 is a full - size flagship SUV, competing with the Li L9 and Wenjie M9. Among the two Mona SUVs, the D02 is a medium - sized SUV, and the D03 is a compact SUV.

In addition to expanding its extended - range layout, XPeng will also place a heavy bet on intelligentization. He Xiaopeng believes that "2026 will be the real first year of fully autonomous driving in China and the United States." XPeng plans to use a set of VLA to create Ultra models and Robotaxi models.

XPeng launched four new 2026 models at its first press conference this year, all of which have focused on upgrading the chip and AI software capabilities. He Xiaopeng emphasized several times in the post - conference communication that the value of AI will far exceed that of traditional performance upgrades. It is not difficult to foresee that this will also be the key upgrade point for XPeng's new cars in 2026.

XPeng Prepares Three Strategies to Boost Sales

Many automakers have proven that making affordable hybrid cars that can be used as pure electric vehicles is the current answer in the Chinese auto market. The pillar of XPeng's sales explosion in 2025 was the low - cost pure - electric model Mona M03, which alone contributed nearly a quarter of the total sales. In the mid - to - low - end market, XPeng will complete its product line by launching two Mona SUVs, D02 and D03.

Beyond the Mona series, XPeng will launch super extended - range versions of its existing models, which gives XPeng an opportunity to readjust its product pricing logic.

Developing extended - range models allows XPeng to lower the price of its cars. The extended - range system reduces the average hardware cost of a vehicle's range, as the range extender is much cheaper than the battery. The starting price of the 63.3 - kWh battery extended - range version of the XPeng X9 is 309,800 yuan, 50,000 yuan cheaper than the 94.8 - kWh pure - electric version of the X9.

XPeng has already tasted the benefits of extended - range models. He Xiaopeng once revealed that the super extended - range version of the XPeng X9 broke the historical daily large - order record of the XPeng X9 within one hour of its launch. 36Kr Auto has learned that the super extended - range version of the XPeng X9 received approximately 8,000 large orders within five days after its launch, exceeding the total sales of the pure - electric XPeng X9 in the first five months of 2025 (according to statistics from Chezhuzhijia, the pure - electric version of the XPeng X9 sold a total of 6,991 vehicles from January to May).

However, the sales growth rate of the extended - range market has slowed down this year. The growth story of extended - range models is not as appealing as it was a few years ago. Most mainstream brands in the market have launched extended - range vehicles, and the market has been quickly filled. The marginal effect of increasing sales through extended - range models is declining.

However, in He Xiaopeng's view, the trend of converting gasoline - powered vehicle users to extended - range vehicles will not change in the next ten or even twenty years. XPeng has gone further than most of its competitors. While increasing the pure - electric range of its extended - range vehicles, XPeng has added the 5C fast - charging and 800V high - voltage platforms, which are almost standard in mid - to - high - end pure - electric vehicles, making its extended - range vehicles better configured than those of its competitors.

This is a more comprehensive solution. A large - capacity super - charging battery + a large - fuel - tank hybrid vehicle provides a charging experience more similar to that of a pure - electric vehicle and a better range experience than almost all other types of vehicles.

XPeng's insistence on "super extended - range" is not only to stabilize its domestic sales but also to target the overseas market. XPeng is accelerating its overseas expansion, and the XPeng P7+ and MONA SUV are the key models for XPeng's overseas expansion this year. According to 36Kr Auto, XPeng's overseas sales accounted for about 10% in 2025, and it plans to double its overseas sales in 2026.

Besides extended - range models, another card XPeng wants to play is its intelligentization capabilities. XPeng will accelerate the implementation of the "self - developed Turing chip + second - generation VLA" system, which will help XPeng maintain its technological brand image and differentiate itself in high - end models and configurations.

36Kr Auto has learned that XPeng has locked in the production capacity of over one million self - developed chips in advance.

XPeng is gradually switching its existing models to the Turing chip. In the newly launched 2026 models, the Max version has replaced the dual - Orin chips (with a computing power of 508 TOPS) with a single Turing chip (with a computing power of 720 TOPS). The newly added Ultra SE version is equipped with two Turing chips for intelligent driving, and the Ultra version, as the top - of - the - line model, uses three Turing chips, two for intelligent driving and one for the cockpit (only for the local application of large AI models).

Automakers such as Li Auto and NIO are also accelerating the mass - production implementation of self - developed chips and large models. For example, NIO's Shenji chip has been installed in NT3.0 platform models, and Li Auto's self - developed chip M100 is planned to be installed in vehicles in 2026. The closed - loop ability of hardware - software integration will create differences in the intelligent driving experience and will be the focus of competition in the next stage of intelligentization.

Double Hurdles in the Pursuit of Sales Growth

"The competition in the auto market in 2026 will be even more brutal and bloody," He Xiaopeng sighed in a recent communication. He Xiaopeng believes that every automaker is currently on edge. Just as it was hard to predict the current changes in the Chinese auto market a year ago, it is also difficult to predict the uncertainties in the next year.

Leapmotor has publicly stated that it aims to sell one million vehicles in 2026 (900,000 in the domestic market and 100,000 overseas), doubling its target. Coupled with XPeng's expected sales target of 600,000 vehicles, Leapmotor and XPeng will further seize market share in 2026, and this is an expansion that can only be achieved through "crowding - out growth."

The Chinese auto market has entered the stage of stock competition. If XPeng and Leapmotor want to achieve a combined sales volume of 1.6 million vehicles in 2026, it necessarily means that some automakers will lose the same - level market share. In the actual structure of the Chinese auto market, this space is most likely to come from BYD and Geely.

BYD and Geely will focus on the overseas market in 2026 and mainly defend their positions in the domestic market. According to 36Kr Auto, BYD's overseas sales target for 2026 is 1.6 million vehicles. The overseas market will provide most of BYD's profits. In the domestic market, BYD will continue its low - profit strategy to maintain pressure on its competitors. Geely will allocate more resources to compete with BYD.

XPeng and Leapmotor need to maintain sufficient cost - effectiveness while excelling in some key performance indicators. Leapmotor focuses on the "cost - effective zone" of 100,000 - 200,000 yuan, while XPeng focuses on the "intelligent driving popularization zone" of 150,000 - 250,000 yuan. Both the "intelligent driving experience" and the "cost - effective experience" are now in the 100,000 - 250,000 - yuan range.

XPeng is accelerating its entry into the hybrid vehicle market, and Leapmotor will gradually expand its four major product series, A, B, C, and D (covering the 100,000 - 300,000 - yuan market range). In 2026, it will launch 4 - 5 new models (including two D - series models, the D19 and the D - platform MPV, as well as two A - series models, the A10 and A05) and several facelifted models of the B and C series.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that XPeng and Leapmotor maintain a high - speed growth trend. However, high - speed expansion means that the organization, supply chain, and system capabilities must achieve synchronous leaps.

For new - energy vehicle startups, an annual sales volume of 500,000 vehicles is a common "system threshold." After crossing the 500,000 - vehicle mark, the number of SKUs increases sharply, the complexity of the supply chain doubles, and the organizational coordination cost grows exponentially. Enterprises are prone to "stall" during the acceleration process.

Li Auto was the first automaker to reach the 500,000 - vehicle mark, but its subsequent experience has proven that the "500,000 - vehicle threshold" can easily magnify the internal and external management shortcomings of an enterprise. Whether XPeng and Leapmotor can successfully cross this threshold remains unknown.