Recovered Lin Zhiying stands for XPENG-W

It's unexpected that after a year of silence, Lin Zhiying, who recovered from a car accident while driving a Tesla, became the spokesperson for Xiaopeng Motors.

On June 6th, Xiaopeng announced that the well-known artist and racer Lin Zhiying had become the "Brand Smart Friend" of Xiaopeng G6. Chairman He Xiaopeng also reposted the article, welcoming "our new friend Lin Zhiying".

This is Lin Zhiying's first comeback after last year's car accident, and his first endorsement for an electric car brand.

In July last year, Lin Zhiying drove a Tesla and hit a utility pole on Zhongzheng North Road in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Lin Zhiying suffered facial fractures and comminuted fractures of the shoulder humerus, and rested for nearly a year.

However, after the accident, Lin Zhiying seemed to have no "PTSD" for electric cars and Tesla. In February this year, Lin Zhiying revealed that he was still driving a black Tesla, "without any shadow, if there is a shadow, I would have sold it long ago." Before that, Lin Zhiying had always been a loyal Tesla user, and he also claimed to have bought Tesla stock very early and planned to hold it for a long time.

Now, inviting Tesla's "little fan" to endorse Xiaopeng G6 also shows that Xiaopeng is eager to use this marketing campaign to build momentum for the brand and win this life-and-death battle.

The current G6 is already the "hope of the whole village" of Xiaopeng.

According to the financial report, Xiaopeng's revenue in the first quarter was 4.03 billion yuan, of which revenue from car sales was 3.51 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 49.8%; at the same time, the gross profit margin fell to 1.7%, a year-on-year decrease of 10.5 percentage points, and the car profit margin directly turned negative, falling to -2.5%. Correspondingly, the delivery volume in the period decreased by 47%.

It is hard to believe that Xiaopeng, who was the "sales champion" of the new forces just two years ago, suddenly fell out of the top five, and the delivery performance in the first five months is still below the 10,000-unit mark. LI AUTO-W, which used to be far behind, is now running towards a monthly sales of 30,000.

In fact, since the launch of G9 last year and the concentrated outbreak of internal problems in the company, Xiaopeng has been in a deep reform, with preparations for production lines and supply chains, changes in marketing and channels all on the table; a radical reform of the organizational structure, and the appointment of industry veteran Wang Fengying and Yi Han to lead marketing; at the same time, the "window period" of model replacement is superimposed, and the pain is unavoidable.

Confidence is more precious than gold at present, and Xiaopeng has little time left. It must use sales to prove itself again, and this will be tested by the performance of G6.

As the first model under the "Fuyao" architecture, G6 aims to fill the market gap of the "big brother" G9, and will be officially launched in June and delivered on a large scale in July.

In He Xiaopeng's view, G6 should sell twice as much as P7 and become a popular model among new energy SUVs priced at two to three hundred thousand yuan. Based on the delivery volume of 59,000 P7s last year, the passing line for G6 is 120,000 vehicles a year, which is equivalent to Tesla's sales in China last year (124,000 vehicles). At the performance conference, He Xiaopeng stated that after the delivery of the G6, it will drive Xiaopeng's total delivery volume to rapidly explode in the third quarter of this year, forming the first sales inflection point after Xiaopeng's strategic and organizational adjustments. At the same time, with the support of the G6, Xiaopeng aims to achieve monthly sales of more than 20,000 in the fourth quarter of this year, and the operating cash flow will also turn positive accordingly.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the G6 is Xiaopeng's "life-saving straw" this year.

However, in the current market where new products are frequently launched and prices are repeatedly "upset", it is not easy for the G6 to "sell out".

Taking the latest BYD Han DM-i champion version launched on May 27 as an example, the car directly lowered the price to below 1.9 million yuan. In addition, JiKe, Great Wall Wei brand, and other car manufacturers have also launched new models recently, all targeting the market of around 200,000 yuan. Faced with such fierce competition in the market, it is difficult to judge whether Xiaopeng G6 can win.

He Xiaopeng is prepared for the market competition. He said that he will adopt the "scale priority pricing method" of "fighting for sales" in terms of price; in terms of production capacity, he has reserved about two months for the G6, and he expects the climbing speed of Q3 delivery volume to be much faster than that of previous products.

However, before the G6 goes on sale, Xiaopeng hopes that its product strength can be perceived by consumers as soon as possible. Inviting Lin Zhiying to "come out" is his bold attempt in marketing.

Whether Lin Zhiying is a Tesla "little fan" or a "loyal fan", or a "forever young male god" and a racing driver, he is a person who is enough to stand out. Xiaopeng G6 is benchmarked against Tesla, the latter being a backbone of Tesla's sales.

Unlike the 5D music cockpit and other functions that Xiaopeng has promoted in the past, the main promotion of Xiaopeng G6 recently is driving experience, XNGP, and charging efficiency. Choosing Lin Zhiying as the spokesperson is also to highlight the G6's most essential driving performance as a car, with the support of the SEPA 2.0 suspension architecture.

Inviting the recovered Lin Zhiying to stand on the platform is a "bold gamble". In the industry environment where "good wine is afraid of deep alleys", Xiaopeng is trying to use the influence of this forever young male god in the car and entertainment circles to reach more car owners and escort the sales of the G6. Let himself win a beautiful turnaround.

He Xiaopeng also said that Lin Zhiying's test drive feedback on the G6 gave him great confidence.

However, after all, marketing is just icing on the cake. At present, the configuration and positioning of the G6 are already clear, and the market is waiting for its price to be announced, and then it can see whether it really has enough competitiveness in the current market.

Last year, He Xiaopeng set a 12-month deadline for himself to complete Xiaopeng's adjustment in the downward cycle in the third quarter of this year.

Now, can he rely on the G6 to break through the darkness and welcome the dawn? The answer will be revealed soon.