A few things on my radar #12

XPeng and Walmart

👋 Hello hello! Thanks for reading The Momentum. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work!

---

XPeng

XPeng aims to achieve profitability in 2025 and plans to start selling robots and flying cars by 2026

• XPeng's February sales surged 570% year-over-year to 30,453 vehicles, driven by strong demand for the P7+ and MONA MO3 models. In comparison: NIO rose 62%, Li Auto increased 30%, BYD grew 161%, while Tesla declined 49%.

• The company is expected to achieve profitability by late 2025, driven by new model demand and overseas expansion. If successful, XPeng would become China's first pure EV maker to turn profitable, said Reuters.

• Xpeng even plans to start mass production of its flying car model and industrial robots by 2026.

• Like Tesla and Baidu, Xpeng has developed its own AI models for advanced autonomous driving. By the second half of this year, Xpeng plans to achieve L3 full-scenario autonomous driving, promising an unparalleled driving experience.

He Xiaopeng, the leader of XPeng, should be grateful to Wang Fengying (王凤英)—this veteran auto industry executive joined XPeng in early 2023 when the company was facing a sales crisis. Drawing on her extensive experience, she orchestrated a sweeping overhaul of XPeng's core products, sales system, and supply chain, rescuing the company from its slump and steering it back onto the path to profitability.

Wang Feigning (left) ; He Xiaopeng (right)

Having resolved its survival challenges, Xiaopeng's visionary ambitions have taken flight - from last year until now, XPeng has successively launched an AI-powered in-car OS (2024), iron robots (2024), and even revolutionary flying cars (2025) that have caught everyone's attention. With the government's growing emphasis on AI, robotics, and the low-altitude economy this year, all of XPeng's innovative directions show tremendous potential.

Think large — in contrast to XPeng and the broader EV industry in China showing strong performance, Tesla's sales continue to decline in major regions like China and Europe. This appears to validate analysts' concerns about Elon Musk's ability to juggle multiple roles while maintaining Tesla's competitive edge. Given this situation, Chinese EV makers are well-positioned to gain Tesla's market share, both domestically and internationally.

BTW - if you're interested in China's low-altitude economy updates, I recommend checking out this Substack: — China eVTOL News — the author is a Canadian professional journalist who has focused on the aviation industry for over a decade.

---

Walmart

Walmart faces pressure in China as Trump's tariffs take effect

Source: Statista

• To cope with a 20% tariff on Chinese imports on top of previous tariffs has put U.S. retailers, in recent weeks, Walmart and other U.S. retailers have told some suppliers they want discounts on China-made products. Some suppliers have also been asked to move production outside of China.

• Chinese officials confronted Walmart last Tuesday over reports it was pushing Chinese suppliers to offset U.S. tariff costs through price cuts. The state media further noted that Walmart sources 60% of its products from China and warned that mistreating Chinese suppliers risks consumer backlash.

• According the WSJ, during Tuesday's meeting, Walmart pledged to work collaboratively with Chinese suppliers while protecting mutual interests. The company emphasized China's importance as a key market and crucial supply chain partner.

Thanks to Trump's tariffs, global trade patterns are being further reshaped.

I'm not sure to what extent this will affect Walmart's business in China - it largely depends on how Walmart ultimately handles this dilemma.

---

Here are other notable brand updates currently on my radar:

Luckin >> Luckin does not plan to raise prices, despite the surging cost of beans // Yicai

Despite Luckin Coffee's significant supply chain advantages from its massive purchasing power, the company faces unavoidable cost pressures as green bean prices have nearly doubled this year. Their announcement of "no plans to lower prices" seems to be a defensive warning signal to Cotti - the instigator of the ¥9.9 price war - indicating that if the price war continues, they still have the capacity to fight till the end.

Mixue >> Mixue has won widespread forgiveness and support domestically, despite being criticized on hygiene violations issues by the state media // ThePaper

In my memory, this is the first time in history that a brand called out during the 315 broadcast was forgiven by consumers without taking any remedial measures - Mixue's supporters have essentially become the brand's free "PR army" - so crazy.

H&M >> H&M takes back its flagship Shanghai store // WWD

For H&M, rebuilding trust with local consumers is the top priority now.

Sabrina Ionescu >> Ionescu has met her fans in Manila, Guangzhou and Hong Kong // Weibo

With increasing WNBA viewership, women's basketball players have established themselves as true stars and are actively expanding their influence in Asian markets.