This Cathie Wood-Backed Chinese EV Maker Becomes Latest To Push Back New Vehicle Launch

Chinese EV startup XPeng, Inc. XPEV has joined its peers in pushing back the launch schedule of its new model, although the reason(s) thereof remains unclear.

What Happened: XPeng's fourth vehicle model, the G9 SUV, will likely make its appearance only in June, CnEVPost reported, citing posters released by the company on Wednesday.

The delay has to do with the postponement of the Beijing Auto Show, the report said, citing automotive media Yiche. Apart from the changed timeline, the company did not share any further details.

XPeng first announced the G9 SUV at the Guangzhou auto show in November. XPeng's CEO He Xiaopeng is confident of the success of the SUV.

"I firmly believe that G9 will become a blockbuster model in the medium- to large-sized smart electric SUV market," Xiaopeng said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

The CEO touted the SUV as having some of the most advanced technology features, leveraging on its in-house developed software and core hardware.

The 17th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, aka Auto China 2020, which was originally scheduled to be held from April 2 to April 30 was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 resurgence in several parts of the country.

Related Link: This Warren Buffett-Backed Chinese EV Maker Outshines Peers Nio, XPeng and Li Auto Yet Again In March; Pulls The Plug On Oil-fueled Vehicles

Why It's Important: The EV industry is currently operating in an extremely challenging environment. Supply constraints amid the worsening geopolitical outlook are affecting EV manufacturers in multiple ways. The meticulous production plans of EV manufacturers are in disarray due to component shortages and the lockdown restrictions put in place in China. These companies are also experiencing input price inflation, and some of them announced retail EV price hikes to pass on the rising input costs to customers.

XPeng hasn't flagged any of these reasons for the G9 SUV delay.

Peer Li Auto, Inc. LI has also delayed the launch of its L9 from the original timeline of April 16. The company blamed the postponement to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Nio, Inc. NIO, which began customer deliveries of its ET7 sedan in late March, has pushed back the timeline for unveiling its ES7 SUV from April to the end of May.

At last check of Benzinga Pro, XPeng shares were sliding 3.67% to $28.33.

Photo: Courtesy of heyxpeng.com