XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) stock took a significant hit in premarket trading Monday, falling over 6% to $16.89 after the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer reported a stumbling start to 2026. The company announced it delivered 20,011 vehicles in January, representing a sharp 34% decline year-over-year.
The drop in deliveries marks a difficult opening to the year following a strong 2025, where the company delivered a total of 429,445 vehicles. The weak January figures highlight the intensifying volatility in China’s EV sector, with competitors showing sharply diverging trajectories.
A Mixed Landscape for Chinese EV Makers
While XPeng struggled to maintain momentum, rival Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) reported a massive 96.1% year-over-year surge in January deliveries, signaling robust demand for its premium lineup despite its stock dipping 1.70% to $4.62. Conversely, Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI) mirrored XPeng’s sluggishness, delivering 27,668 vehicles—down from 29,927 a year earlier—underscoring a widening performance gap among the industry leaders. Li Auto shares slipped marginally by 0.48% to $16.55.
Global Expansion Continues Despite Headwinds
Despite the domestic sales slump, XPeng is aggressively expanding its international footprint. The company recently launched the XPENG P7+ across 36 countries simultaneously, highlighted by a European debut at the 2026 Brussels Motor Show in January.
As of December 31, 2025, the automaker has established a presence in 60 countries and regions. Its overseas physical retail network has grown to 380 stores, a year-over-year increase of more than 150%, bringing its total worldwide sales and service network to over 1,000 outlets.
Betting on the “GX” and AI Restructuring
In a move to reverse the sales decline and meet ambitious future targets, XPeng founder He Xiaopeng recently unveiled the company’s new flagship SUV, the GX. Built on the SEPA 3.0 platform, the six-seater vehicle is designed to tackle the comfort and spatial limitations often associated with large SUVs. The model features a highly intelligent chassis equipped with steer-by-wire technology and rear-wheel steering. While pricing details remain under wraps, the company is banking on the GX to reinvigorate consumer interest.
Parallel to this hardware offensive, XPeng is streamlining its internal operations. The company has merged its autonomous driving and smart cockpit departments into a newly created “General AI Center.” This consolidation is intended to accelerate the development of AI models, creating a unified foundation for both automotive applications and the company’s growing robotics division.
Ambitious 2026 Targets and Robotics Vision
Management remains bullish on the full year, setting a delivery target of 550,000 to 600,000 vehicles for 2026. Achieving this volume will depend heavily on how quickly the new GX model and reorganized AI capabilities can drive market share.
Beyond passenger vehicles, XPeng continues to promote its vision of “multidimensional mobility.” At the ongoing Indonesia International Motor Show in Jakarta, the company is showcasing its X2 flying taxi alongside its humanoid robot, IRON. The robotics division recently faced a hiccup during a demonstration in Shenzhen where the IRON robot took a tumble, though management dismissed the incident as a normal part of the development process.
Financial Context
Investors are currently weighing these future initiatives against the company’s recent financial performance. In November 2025, XPeng reported third-quarter revenue of 20.38 billion yuan ($2.86 billion), a 101.8% year-over-year jump that landed just shy of consensus forecasts. However, the company showed progress on profitability; adjusted net loss per ADS was significantly narrower than expected, coming in at 0.16 yuan (approx. 2 cents USD) against analyst expectations of a 0.47 yuan loss.
As XPeng attempts to close the gap on its aggressive annual goals, market watchers will be focused on the commercial reception of the GX SUV and whether the new “General AI Center” can translate technical reorganization into sales efficiency.
