Citi: XPENG-W MONA L03 Initial Orders Strong; Buy Rating Reiterated
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Citi reiterated a Buy rating on XPENG-W, citing strong initial orders for the MONA L03 SUV, which breached 20,000 units in seven minutes. The bank expects XPENG's sales growth to outstrip peers by H2 2026, driven by AI driving system deployments in Europe and future robotaxi operations. Citi set target prices at HKD87.7 for Hong Kong listings and USD22.5 for US listings, while maintaining Sell ratings on GWMOTOR and SERES.
Citi published a research report covering XPENG-W (09868.HK) -4.950 (-8.753%) Short selling $222.51M; Ratio 15.242% , which launched the MONA L03 compact SUV yesterday (16th). According to the company, non-refundable orders breached 20,000 units within seven minutes of launch. The starting price of the MONA L03 is RMB123,800, RMB20,000 lower than the pre-sale price. The model offers both BEV and EREV powertrain options, and is equipped with its self-developed Turing chip.
Citi expected XPENG-W's sales growth, including domestic and export markets, to outstrip peers entering 2H26. The broker noted that XPENG-W recently completed the first overseas localized validation of its Turing AI intelligent driving system in Europe, becoming the first Chinese automaker to deploy a unified AI model in both China and Europe to support ADAS.
The company foresaw its VLA2.0 autonomous driving system to be delivered in Europe in 2027, and projected monthly production capacity for its humanoid robot "IRON" to reach 1,000 units by the end of 2026 before launching globally in 2027. Moreover, XPENG-W's Robotaxi officially rolled off the production line in May 2026 and entered internal testing, with trial operations predicted to commence within 2026.
Citi set the Hong Kong stock target price at HKD87.7 and the US stock target price for XPeng Inc. (XPEV.US) at USD22.5, while maintaining a Buy rating.
Among high-beta stocks, the broker preferred LEAPMOTOR (09863.HK) -1.740 (-4.672%) Short selling $28.70M; Ratio 9.568% and XPENG-W. Based on earnings forecast revision trends, the broker was more optimistic on CHERY AUTO (09973.HK) -1.660 (-6.255%) Short selling $5.77M; Ratio 2.342% , GEELY AUTO (00175.HK) -1.180 (-6.086%) Short selling $282.73M; Ratio 25.371% and BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) -3.400 (-3.738%) Short selling $983.98M; Ratio 31.564% . Meanwhile, the broker maintained Sell ratings on GWMOTOR (02333.HK) -0.210 (-2.384%) Short selling $25.65M; Ratio 18.900% and SERES (09927.HK) -2.760 (-6.103%) Short selling $1.97M; Ratio 2.109% .
XPENG-W opened flat today (17th), with the stock hitting a trough of HKD51.75. It last quoted at HKD51.8, down 8.4%, with turnover of 13.0568 million shares involving HKD696 million.
(HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2026-07-16 16:25.) (Real-time Streaming US Stocks Quote; Except All OTC quotes are at least 15 minutes delayed.)