(Yicai Global) Dec. 12 -- Shares of Li Auto tanked after the Chinese new energy startup revealed a nearly 80-fold increase in net loss, blaming the surging raw material prices.

Li Auto [HKG: 2015] slumped 12 percent to close at HKD82.70 (USD10.60), almost 35 percent down this year.

The car company's net loss tallied CNY1.6 billion (USD236 million) in the third quarter, widening from CNY21.5 million (USD3.1 million) a year earlier, due to the rising prices of commodities, including those of batteries, the Beijing-based firm said in its earnings report recently.

Revenue rose 20 percent to CNY9.3 billion (USD13.4 billion). The firm more than doubled its spending on research and development at CNY1.8 billion, a new high. Its gross profit margin plunged by more than 10 percentage points to 12.7 percent.

In the fourth quarter, the car company expects its revenue to surge as much as 66 percent to a point between CNY16.5 billion and CNY17.6 billion (USD2.4 billion and USD2.5 billion). In the future, Li Auto will achieve a greater scale and further reduce its costs, regaining a profit, Chief Financial Officer Li Tie said.

From July to September, deliveries were lower than expected at 26,500 units, up 6 percent year-over-year. However, when comparing quarter-over-quarter, the sum has been falling for two straight quarters.

The results were worrying as the company's free cash flow of CNY1.2 billion turned negative CNY2 billion YoY. The average loss per car exceeded CNY80,000 (USD11,456). In the previous two quarters, such deficit ranged between CNY13,000 and CNY34,000.

In the electric vehicle industry, profits currently lie in lithium mines and midstream battery manufacturing, a private equity professional told Yicai Global. Although finished products are priced higher, it is still difficult to cover the rising costs, the insider said, adding that the competition in the car market is fierce, and it is difficult to predict when enterprises will be able to turn a profit.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi