(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Li Auto’s stock price fell after the Chinese electric carmaker’s first-half loss widened 9.5 percent from a year earlier, mainly because of the higher cost of batteries and other parts.

In Hong Kong today, Li Auto [HKG: 2015] finished 1.4 percent lower at HKD122.90 (USD15.67), after swinging between a gain of as much as 2.8 percent and a drop of 4 percent in the morning. Its New York-listed shares [NASDAQ: LI] were down 2.1 percent at USD31.89 in pre-market trading as of 8.11 a.m. local time today.

Li Auto’s net loss was CNY651.9 million (USD96 million) in the six months ended June 30, compared with CNY595.5 million a year ago, the firm’s earnings report showed before the US market opened yesterday. Revenue surged 112 percent to CNY18.3 billion (USD2.7 billion), as vehicle sales doubled to 60,403.

“We achieved solid financial and operational results despite the significant industry-wide parts supply chain challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Beijing-based company stated.

The wider loss was mainly due to higher costs, with the cost of sales doubling to CNY14.3 billion (USD2.1 billion), spending on research and development soaring almost 150 percent to CNY2.9 billion (USD427.1 million) and its selling, general and administrative expenses jumping by 88 percent to CNY2.5 billion.

Last month, Li Auto delivered 10,422 units of its Li One model, a crossover sports utility vehicle, a 21 percent year-on-year gain. It predicted third-quarter deliveries would range between 27,000 and 29,000, up 7.5 percent to 15.5 percent from a year ago, with a surge in revenue from 15.3 percent to 22.9 percent to between CNY9 billion and CNY9.6 billion. 

The guidance was below market expectations, Ping An Securities analyst Wang De’an said. That is mainly because of the substitution effect caused by the launch of the new L9 model, which has led to slower growth in Li One orders, he added.

Li Auto unveiled the L9, its second car model, on June 21. Priced at CNY459,800 (USD67,745) each, the cars are CNY110,000 more costly than the Li One. Li Auto said deliveries of the L9 will begin before the end of this month.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Tom Litting