❯ XPeng’s H1 Net Loss Widens 173% to RMB 3.121 Billion; R&D Up 39%, Poured Into Physical AI

LOSS WIDENSXPeng Group’s H1 2026 total operating revenue was RMB 32.777 billion, down 3.8% YoY, while the net loss attributable to shareholders was RMB 3.121 billion, widening 173.35% YoY. Over the same period, however, gross profit came in at RMB 6.766 billion, up 20.25% YoY, lifting overall gross margin to 20.6%, a 4.1-percentage-point improvement YoY — revenue is falling while gross margin is rising. That divergent pair of numbers is the entry point to this earnings report.

SALES & R&DThe report shows H1 deliveries of 165,977 vehicles, down 15.8% YoY, with vehicle sales revenue of RMB 28.05 billion, down 10.3% YoY. The real support for gross margin came from another segment: service and other business revenue of RMB 4.73 billion, surging 67.1% YoY. R&D spending, meanwhile, hit RMB 5.82 billion, up 39% YoY, explicitly directed at new models and at physical AI and humanoid robots. At period end, cash on hand totaled RMB 40.48 billion, with 20,632 employees — more than 8,700 of them in R&D.

LOSS NATURERead this report alongside the USD 900 million funding round for the robotics business announced the same day, and the math is clear: it sold fewer cars, but made more on each one — the savings and the new funding have both been poured into robotics. Q3 guidance calls for deliveries of 115,000 to 121,000 vehicles and revenue of RMB 21.7 billion to 23.4 billion. Valuing this company by delivery volume will become increasingly unreliable — the bulk of R&D is flowing into physical AI, a cost that won’t appear on any delivery statement in the near term, yet will materially shape next year’s cash-burn rate.

▪ SIGNALWhen a carmaker frames the source of its loss as R&D investment, readers must first determine whether this is bleeding or repositioning.