The electric vehicle revolution is here, but not all automakers in this space deserve equal attention. Among the most promising contenders is China’s XPeng (XPEV).

What’s different about XPeng’s electric vehicles? This company’s vehicles aren’t just "smart": they are integrated with advanced Internet, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving technologies. Moreover, 43% of XPeng’s 3,676 employees work in research-and-development-related areas. (See XPeng stock chart on TipRanks)

In other words, these are advanced vehicles based on state-of-the-art technology. As has been proven by companies such as Apple (AAPL), top tech can lead to outstanding sales results.

A Quick Look at XPEV Stock

XPEV stock peaked at a 52-week high of $74.49 on Nov. 23 of last year. Could it get back there again?

It’s certainly possible, though its investors needed to have strong stomachs when XPEV stock bottomed out at $23 and change in May of this year. The stock now appears to be turning a corner, as it was already back up to $42.16 on June 25, 2021.

Therefore, the bulls appear to be gaining momentum, yet there’s still plenty of room for XPEV stock to run. It’s a great setup.

A Month to Remember

Without a doubt, XPeng’s stakeholders waited and hoped for strong data in May. Thankfully, the numbers were absolutely outstanding.

For the month of May, XPeng delivered 5,686 vehicles, which represents a 483% year-over-year increase. It’s also a 10% improvement over the prior month. Those May deliveries included 3,797 P7’s (XPeng’s smart sports sedan) and 1,889 G3’s (the company’s smart compact SUV). With that, XPeng reported that it had delivered 24,173 vehicles year-to-date, which signifies an amazing 427% year-over-year increase.

Prior to the release of that data, XPeng celebrated a tremendous first quarter of 2021. Regarding that, XPeng Vice Chairman and President Brian Gu had some statistics to share.

“Thanks to our record-breaking deliveries in this quarter, our revenues reached RMB2,950.9 million in Q1, representing year-over-year growth of 616.1%. We also witnessed further improvement in our profitability. In particular, our gross margin continued the upward trend and reached 11.2% in the quarter,” Gu stated.

XPeng A Leader in Lidar

Even beyond the sales numbers, investors can get excited about Xpeng’s future-facing automotive technology.

One notable tech innovation is XPeng’s lidar-equipped P5. Lidar is short for light detection and ranging, and it’s the laser-guided technology that self-driving cars often use. According to the company, the XPeng P5 is the world’s first production smart electric vehicle that’s equipped with automotive-grade lidar technology.