By Michael Elkins
According to Chinese media, He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of Chinese electric car maker XPeng (NYSE:) has bought 2.2 million shares of the US company from the market.
Nearly $30 million paid for shares on the open market, on Sept. 23, based on an average price of $13.58 – disclosed in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Sunday. The automaker went public in New York in August 2020 and in Hong Kong in July 2021.
The company has seen its shares drop more than 60% since late June. However, the launch of XPeng’s new SUV has boosted confidence in future profitability after months of pressure.
โXpengโs current sales have reached a bottleneck, and it is difficult to increase its sales due to increased competitors,โ an analyst at Ping An Securities wrote in a report on Friday. He added that due to lower car prices, their profitability was also weaker than domestic competitors Nio (NYSE:) and Li Auto (NASDAQ:).
The company hopes that its new G9 SUV will boost sales and enhance overall competitiveness. The electric SUV was launched in China on Tuesday and is scheduled to be delivered to customers in October. Described by XPeng as “the world’s fastest mass-produced SUV, [boasting] The industry’s first full-scenario advanced driver assistance system.”
The automaker expects to ship 10,000 units per month of its premium smart SUV. At the online launch event last week, He Xiaoping said he was confident that the G9, priced between 309.900 yuan (US$43,474) and 469,900 yuan, could beat the internal combustion engine-powered Audi Q5 SUV.
The G9 is expected to boost XPeng’s sales and profitability, which in turn will boost its share price, according to a Ping An Securities report.
XPEV shares are up 4.16% in pre-market trading on Monday.
