On April 17, Xiaopeng Motors and Volkswagen Group jointly announced the formal signing of an EEA electronic and electrical architecture technology strategic cooperation framework agreement.
Judging from the details of the agreement, the two sides will jointly develop electronic and electrical architectures for Volkswagen's electric vehicle platform in the Chinese market. Meanwhile, the EEA electronic and electrical architecture jointly developed by the two parties is expected to be applied to Volkswagen brand electric models produced in China from 2026.
This means that the strategic cooperation between the two sides has ushered in another “milestone” leap forward. In addition to the third cooperation after the “G9 Platform Full Stack Technology Cooperation” and “Joint Procurement”, that is, the EEA architecture cooperation, the scope of cooperation between the two sides expanded from the original cooperative vehicle construction to building a new platform for Volkswagen brand electric vehicles specifically for the Chinese market.
Why did Xiaopeng Motors and the Volkswagen Group hit it off so fast?
From the details of the cooperation, it is easy to see that what the Volkswagen Group is interested in is Xiaopeng Motor's achievements and technological innovation capabilities in the field of smart electric vehicles. From the perspective of long-term development, this technological innovation capability corresponds to enterprises being able to accelerate the intelligent transformation of electrification and win great value in the second half of the industry.
Therefore, this cooperation further symbolizes the rise of Chinese companies' technological innovation capabilities, and the technological innovation capabilities of Chinese enterprises in the field of smart electric vehicles have reached the leading international level.
As a new force with technological genes, Xiaopeng Motor's full-stack self-research capabilities are the most prominent. In terms of products, it leads the industry in terms of core competitiveness in terms of intelligent driving and smart cockpits. Intelligence is the key to overcoming the end of the automobile industry. With its layout in related fields, Xiaopeng Motor has already successfully branded itself as “intelligent”.
Reflected in its technical capabilities, Xiaopeng Motor has formed a localized high-speed NOA and urban NOA landing plan based on self-developed algorithms. This year, XNGP was launched for more than 200 cities across the country. In the future, XNGP will expand the global market and demonstrate strong AI intelligent driving capabilities. At the same time, Xiaopeng Motor has industry-leading software architecture, integration, OTA speed, and cross-platform software speed. Based on the establishment of long-term strategic cooperation with Volkswagen Group, it has also been recognized by this industry giant.
Predictably, with the deepening of long-term strategic cooperation between the two sides, Xiaopeng Motor has explored a new business model by expanding the value of technology research and development. Looking at it now, the prototype for Xiaopeng Motor to become a “technical service provider” has appeared, and future development is expected to enter a new stage.
The CITIC Securities Research Report pointed out that Xiaopeng has been adhering to full-stack self-research on intelligent driving for many years, and has been exploring technology monetization models. Cooperation with Volkswagen has helped the company to make breakthroughs in technology monetization. It is expected that the beginning of revenue recognition from technical services will improve short-term profitability while also opening up a long-term ceiling.
Currently, Xiaopeng Motor's latest financial data maintains a strong momentum, with revenue exceeding 30 billion yuan in 2023. Thanks to a continued recovery in deliveries in the second half of 2023, more than 140,000 vehicles were delivered last year, and market share and brand influence continued to expand. As can be seen, Xiaopeng Motor's technological innovation capabilities are continuing to deliver growth in performance.
On this basis, Xiaopeng and Volkswagen will deepen cooperation and empower each other to achieve a win-win situation in multiple dimensions such as technology, market, industrial chain, capital, and channels in the future. Xiaopeng Motor will expand more room for imagination and fully unleash commercial potential.
Overall, this cooperation between Xiaopeng Motor and Volkswagen Group is undoubtedly another representative event in the global smart electric vehicle industry, which will give both parties more possibilities for development. Combined with Xiaopeng Motor's technological innovation, product launch, and steady increase in performance, its future valuation is expected to reach new highs, creating more surprises and rewards for investors, which is worth looking forward to.