Nick Lai

Nick Lai asked about NIO's 2026 profitability outlook, specifically if achieving Q4 2025 break-even, combined with new model launches and expense control, suggests strong full-year profitability for 2026. He also inquired about NIO's long-term strategy regarding in-house chip development versus outsourcing to NVIDIA, including the pros and cons of each approach.

Answer

CEO William Li expressed confidence in achieving full-year non-GAAP profitability for 2026, citing positive market trends in BEV penetration within premium and large SUV segments, a strong product pipeline of five large models next year, an expected vehicle gross margin of around 20% for 2026, and continued cost/expense control. He provided market data showing significant BEV growth over REEVs. Regarding chips, William Li highlighted the performance and cost optimization benefits of NIO's in-house NX9031 chip and confirmed continued investment in chip technology. He also mentioned a recent partnership to share NIO's chip solutions with other industry players, including non-automotive sectors like robotics, as a win-win strategy.

Nick Lai from JPMorgan Chase & Co. inquired about NIO's 2026 profitability outlook, specifically if the company expects to achieve full-year or second-half profitability on a non-GAAP basis, given the Q4 2025 break-even target, new model launches, and expense control. He also asked about NIO's long-term strategy for in-house chip development versus outsourcing to NVIDIA, including the pros and cons.

Answer

William Li, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NIO, stated confidence in achieving full-year non-GAAP profitability in 2026, driven by market trends favoring BEVs, the launch of five new large models, and an expected vehicle gross margin of around 20%. He highlighted the increasing penetration of BEVs in premium and large SUV segments. Regarding chips, Li emphasized the benefits of NIO's in-house NX9031 chip for performance and cost, confirming continued investment and plans to share the technology with other industries and partners.

Nick Lai inquired about XPeng's humanoid robot (IRON) technology roadmap, its differentiation from market peers, competitive advantages, key milestones towards mass production, expected capacity and application scale by end of 2026, and long-term use cases by 2030.

Answer

He Xiaopeng, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of XPENG, highlighted IRON's human-like design and full-fusion AI driving integrated hardware as key differentiators. He emphasized synergies with AI cars, car-grade performance, and existing sales/service infrastructure. Mass production of the 8th generation IRON is challenging but will begin the 1.0 stage next month. Initial deployment in 2026 will be in commercial settings like XPeng stores, with an open SDK for partners and a long-term vision of 1 million units annually by 2030 for diverse applications.

Nick Lai inquired about XPENG's humanoid robot IRON's technology roadmap compared to market peers, its competitive advantages, and the key milestones for IRON from now until mass production. He also asked about the expected capacity and application scale by the end of 2026, and the projected use cases and pricing for the 1 million units target by 2030.

Answer

Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Mr. He Xiaopeng stated that XPENG's humanoid robot development is proceeding as planned, focusing on a highly human-like product philosophy with features like muscles and bionic skin to encourage human interaction. He highlighted XPENG's full-stack R&D, cross-domain integration, synergies with AI cars, and a focus on car-grade performance and commercialization logic as key advantages. For mass production, he noted challenges in capability integration (e.g., training with human language, dexterous hand movements) but expressed excitement for entering the 1.0 stage next month. He expects initial deployment in commercial scenarios like tour guiding and retail assistance, with an open SDK to foster ecosystem growth, and anticipates household applications within five years, aiming for affordable pricing.

Nick Lai asked for the long-term vision for XPeng's product mix by 2030 across its three pillars: AI cars, flying cars, and humanoid robots. He also inquired about potential new opportunities with Volkswagen in Europe, given recent policies encouraging foreign investment in AI and autonomous driving.

Answer

Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng stated that while a 2030 mix is hard to predict, the company aims for 50% of sales to be from overseas markets by 2034. He compared the current state of humanoid robots to the EV industry in 2010. An XPeng executive added that the current Volkswagen collaboration is focused on the G9 platform and EEA, but there is industrial logic for potential collaboration in overseas markets.