Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV), the China-based electric vehicle startup, outpaced local rivals in the past quarter as it looks to try and catch up with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), saying it will speed up the pace of new product launches in the coming year.
Total vehicle deliveries for the second quarter increased 98% to 34,422.
This compares to Tesla's 254,695 deliveries in its latest quarter, up 26.5% year-over-year.
The increases come as the car industry faces ongoing supply chain challenges and factory shutdowns, which were mainly centred in China.
Despite delays also suffered by rivals Tesla and Li Auto during the city's two-month pandemic lockdown, XPeng delivered just over its own forecast of 31,000-34,000 units.
XPeng's July sales report show total sales outpaced both its Chinese peers Li Auto and Nio despite the firm reporting a greater-than-expected loss and weak revenue guidance for the third quarter.
The Guangzhou-based group delivered 11,524 vehicles in July, up 43% year-over-year and by 24.65% from the previous month, with 80,507 vehicles delivered this year, up 108%.
The company has previously announced it is aiming to deliver 250,000 units in 2022, with a 'challenge target' of 300,000 units.
Management told media alongside these results that the company will speed up the pace of new product launches and launch a B-class car and a C-class car next year to compete with Tesla's Model Y.
A new sedan is on its way, and XPeng plans to begin accepting reservations for the G9 this month, followed by the official launch in September 2022. The new G3 will replace the aging flagship SUV.
XPeng has three models for sale in Europe, having started with the launch of its G3 in Norway in 2020.
"Our deliveries sustained robust growth momentum in the second quarter despite unprecedented circumstances brought by the resurgence of COVID-19 in certain areas of China," CEO He Xiaopeng said in a statement.
Net loss for the second quarter was 46c per share, while sales increased 87% to US$1.1bn, with the firm expecting vehicle deliveries between 29,000-31,000 in the third quarter, representing a double digit year-over-year increase, but decline from second quarter.
The July deliveries already in hand suggest that XPeng's August-September deliveries will be below 20,000.
Shares in Xpeng fell 10% in the US overnight to US$18.73 and over 12% in Hong Kong this morning to US$72.85.