An XPeng Inc G9 electric vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show. - Bloomberg
KUALA LUMPUR: The distributorship of the XPeng electric vehicles (EV) in Malaysia would have a negligible impact on Bermaz Auto Bhd
's earnings in the first year of its introduction as it would struggle to make a dent in the crowded EV market, says Kenanga Research.
Bermaz Auto announced yesterday it had been awarded the distributorship, sale of spare parts and provision of after-sales services of XPeng marque smart EVs in Malaysia by Shenzhen Xiaopeng Motors Supply Chain Management Co Ltd China and Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Trading Co Ltd, China.
The first model, XPeng G6 EV (SUV), slated for launch in 4Q24 will be competitively priced at under RM200,000, it added.
Kenanga said in a note that there would be less than 1% earnings impact to Bermaz Auto as the group is expected to sell only a few hundred units of completely built up (CBU) units at most during the first year of operations.
The new distributorship incurs a minimum capex - which Kenanga expects to be less than RM2mil - with XPeng taking over the showroom vacated by Peugeot in Glenmarie, Shah Alam.
Maintaining its forecasts on Bermaz Auto, the research firm kept its target price at RM2.30 and "market perform" recommendation on the stock.
Meanwhile, MIDF Research said there is a possibility that Bermaz Auto will have plans for completely knocked down (CKD) models of XPeng as the excise duty for locally assembled EVs have been extended until December 2027.
It added that Bermaz Auto might consider negotiating for distribution rights for the Philippines market where it has a ready distribution network for the Mazda brand.
"Broadly, we believe XPeng’s expansion mirrors Chinese auto players’ strategy to diversify away from the
competitive Chinese EV market which is currently facing oversupply and severe price competition," said the research firm in its company update.
It added that it views this latest development as mid- to long-term positive for Bermaz Auto.
MIDF maintained its projections pending further details of the rollout of the XPeng distribution business. It maintained "buy" with an unchanged target price of RM3.39.
At 9.50am, the trading stock of Bermaz Auto was up one sen or 0.41% to RM2.42 on the back of 2.47 million shares crossing.
