Xpeng shares sink as weak delivery forecast overshadows $6.3 billion robot unit valuation

Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng fell more than 9% in Hong Kong on Tuesday after the company issued weaker-than-expected forecast for third-quarter deliveries, despite its robotics business unit securing a valuation of over $6.3 billion in a funding round.

The company reported a second-quarter net loss of 1.34 billion yuan (200 million), wider than a year earlier, while revenue rose 8% to 19.74 billion yuan. It forecast deliveries of between 115,000 and 121,000 vehicles in the third quarter.

Citi said the delivery guidance fell short of investor expectations, largely due to supply chain constraints that disrupted the ramp-up of Xpeng's MONA L03 model. It slightly lowered its price targets for Xpeng's U.S.- and Hong Kong-listed shares following the company's financial results.

Separately, Xpeng's robotics business raised more than $900 million in its first funding round, giving the unit a post-transaction valuation of more than $6.3 billion. The round was led by IDG Capital, with participation from Gaorong Ventures and support from Tencent and Alibaba as strategic investors.

Brian Gu, Xpeng vice chairman and co-president, said the company's ambition is to usher in "a new phase of global mass production and commercial deployment for advanced humanoid robots," in a LinkedIn post about the funding round.

Citi estimates that if Xpeng's current valuation fully reflects the robotics unit's post-transaction valuation, its EV business has an implied value of around $6.5 billion, putting it at roughly the same level as the nascent robotics business.

The bank described the robotics financing as a long-term positive for Xpeng, saying the EV maker could apply its existing strengths in algorithms, AI models and chips to humanoid robots.

Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng said in November that the company would sell more robots than cars in the next 10 years. The Guangzhou-based startup revealed its second-generation humanoid robot at the time, and has also built out a flying vehicles business unit.