Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) plans to hire 8,000 workers this year, up from its earlier target of 6,000, founder He Xiaopeng said in an internal speech.
With the new hires, XPeng expects its total headcount to approach 30,000 by the end of the year, according to a transcript of He’s remarks reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday.
XPeng’s stock has seen substantial growth, surging 52% year-to-date, outperforming the NYSE Composite Index’s 7% returns.
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XPeng is accelerating its global expansion with the official launch of its revamped G6 and G9 Ultra Smart SUVs in Europe, featuring ultra-fast 800V charging and AI-powered driving tech. The EV maker opened orders across eight European countries last year, with deliveries set to begin in late summer 2025.
As XPeng targets international growth, its financial momentum continues to build. In first-quarter 2025, the company reported a 141.5% year-over-year (Y/Y) revenue jump to 15.81 billion Chinese yuan ($2.18 billion), topping the analyst consensus estimate of 16.02 billion Chinese yuan and a 330.8% surge in vehicle deliveries to 94,008 units. Vehicle sales revenue climbed 159.2%, while its gross margin rose for the seventh quarter, reaching 15.6%.
Looking ahead, XPeng projects second-quarter deliveries of 102,000-108,000 units, up over 237% Y/Y. The company anticipates revenue of 17.5 billion Chinese yuan to 18.7 billion Chinese yuan, versus the analyst consensus estimate of 16.85 billion Chinese yuan.
As of July, XPeng has delivered 197,189 vehicles this year, already surpassing its full-year 2024 total, while expanding into more than 40 countries and regions.
XPeng has started developing autonomous driving chips and is working with Volkswagen (OTC:VWAGY) and other automakers as potential clients.
At the June launch event for the G7 model, CEO He Xiaopeng told the Financial Times that XPeng is integrating its Turing AI chip into upcoming Volkswagen vehicles set to launch in China in 2025.
Xiaopeng claimed the Turing chip delivers three times the computing power of Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) Orin-X, positioning XPeng as a serious contender in the autonomous tech race.
Price Action: XPEV shares are trading lower by 0.28% to $17.87 premarket at last check Wednesday.
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