Starting at 119.8k yuan, the new Xiaopeng MONA M03. He Xiaopeng: "I don't touch cars under 100k yuan; they have scale but too little value."

This article is sourced from Times Finance. Author: He Qing, Zhang Zhao

On April 2, the 2026 Xpeng MONA M03 was officially launched, with a price range of 119.8k to 151.8k yuan. Its starting price remains the same as the previous model. The Plus and Max variants were launched with immediate delivery, while the Ultra SE variant is expected to be delivered in August. According to Xpeng’s official announcement, within 37 minutes of the 2026 Xpeng MONA M03 launch, the number of RMB-denominated deposits for binding orders exceeded 10k units, and the share of Max orders surpassed 85%.

In an interview after the press conference, Yang Guang, who is in charge of the MONA product line at the Xpeng Group, said: “The MONA M03 is not the first time it has been launched. We have been delivering more than 15k units stably for many months already, so you don’t need to worry (about capacity). We will ensure high-quality delivery.”

                    Image source: Times Finance / photo by the publisher

In August 2024, the MONA M03 was officially launched, priced at 119.8k to 155.8k yuan. The following May, the MONA M03 was upgraded and launched again, adding four new full-version models, priced at 119.8k to 139.8k yuan.

Once the MONA M03 went on sale, it quickly became a sales workhorse for Xpeng. In 2025, the MONA M03 sold 175.3k units, accounting for 40% of Xpeng’s total sales of 430k units, with average monthly sales of nearly 15k units. At the press conference, Xpeng Group Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng introduced that in 2025, the Xpeng MONA M03 became the sales champion among A-segment pure-electric sedans, with a market share of 40.6%, exceeding the combined total of the second through fifth place models.

However, this year the sales of the Xpeng MONA M03 have declined somewhat. Data from Bitauto shows that in January and February this year, the MONA M03 sold only 11k units. At the same time, competition in the pure-electric market within the 150k-yuan range is fierce. Besides the Xpeng MONA M03, there are also products such as Leapmotor B01 and BYD Qin PLUS EV.

At the press conference, He Xiaopeng repeatedly compared the new MONA M03 with Tesla Model 3 (235.5k to 339.5k yuan) across dimensions including assisted driving functions, vehicle dimensions, in-car computer chips, and e-drive power.

In Yang Guang’s view, the MONA M03 is a very special product. Its product form differs within this price segment, and its user base is very typical for the “alternative choice” type of user. “Many young users like really great things, but when they’re just starting out in society, their financial conditions are limited. Being young doesn’t necessarily mean they have to use something bad, so we provide products in a differentiated way. Of course, these users will also compare Tesla Model 3. The MONA M03 and the Model 3 definitely have a competitive relationship; it is also one of our competitors. In different price segments, using different products and different brands/images, we provide users with different services.”

In terms of product strength, the intelligent assisted driving of the MONA M03 remains the core selling point that Xpeng most wants to highlight. Compared with the previous model, the 2026 MONA M03 has been further upgraded in assisted driving. Last year’s launched MONA M03 Max comes with dual Orin-X chips, delivering computing power of 508 TOPS, and it is also equipped with an end-to-end large model. For the new model MONA M03 launched this time, Xpeng first brings effective computing power of 1,500 TOPS into the 20k-dollar-class segment. He Xiaopeng said: “It exceeds many models on the market that are equipped with intelligent assisted driving, including many flagship models in the 500k-yuan tier.”

According to reports, the new Xpeng MONA M03 Max version is equipped with a single Turing AI chip, with effective computing power of 750 TOPS, and uses a high-definition lofic architecture and automotive-grade cameras. The Ultra SE version is equipped with two Turing AI chips, with computing power reaching 1,500 TOPS, and it comes with a full-power version of the second-generation VLA. In addition, the Xpeng MONA M03 Max model will begin installing the second-generation VLA distillation on board in the second half of this year.

With no change in the starting price, the 2026 Xpeng MONA M03 configurations have been further upgraded, with increased content but no price increase. But He Xiaopeng believes the profit margin of the 2026 MONA M03 will be much better than that of the 2025 model. “We will pursue higher and higher gross margins. I think making cheap cars with low profits has no value. Xpeng does not go for cars priced within 100k yuan RMB; (this market) has scale, but we believe the value is too small.”

Regarding the improvement in gross margin, Yang Guang further explained: “We have developed our chips ourselves, and we install this chip across all models. With our algorithms and our VLA 2.0, only then can we spread the costs, strengthen our capabilities, and roll forward in a virtuous cycle.” In addition, he believes that as the scale increases, and as operational quality improves, then the open-sourcing that should be open-sourced and the cost-saving that should be implemented can further improve gross margins.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Xpeng achieved quarterly profitability for the first time. In that quarter, net profit reached 380 million yuan, gross margin was 21.3%, and it increased by 6.9 percentage points year over year. In 2025, Xpeng’s full-year sales reached 430k units, up 126% year over year. In a research report, Guozheng International pointed out that this performance was mainly due to the successful launch of value-for-money models such as the MONA M03. Although it led to a decline in the average selling price, it significantly improved market share.

In the last quarter of last year, with both Xpeng and NIO achieving a turnaround to profit in a single quarter, the new Chinese car-making forces represented by “NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto” collectively became profitable. However, when the long-term profitability turning point will arrive has become a new focus in the industry.

He Xiaopeng said: “Last year, Xpeng did not have full-year profitability, but our full-year loss was very small (Xpeng’s full-year net loss in 2025 was 119.8k yuan). Last year, our R&D expenses were close to 151.8k yuan. If you add flying cars, it exceeds 10 billion yuan. This year, our R&D expenses will also increase significantly. So from another angle, if we don’t count our investment in new R&D such as chips, next-generation AI, and robots, in the automotive sector we are already at a quite large scale of profitability, and this year we can also achieve (profitability).”

“I’ve always felt that (the Chinese auto industry) will ultimately go through a process where a hundred flowers bloom, high-quality development happens, and the strong eliminate the weak. In the end, it will definitely be difficult to leave so many companies (automakers). A few years ago, I often said that by 2030, maybe only five Chinese automakers will remain, and I’m still very firmly of that view. I believe having a certain scale is only the first threshold, but far from being the necessary condition to win.” He Xiaopeng said.