(Yicai) Aug. 30 -- Nio’s shares plunged after the Chinese new energy vehicle startup said its net loss widened 120 percent in the second quarter of the year.

Nio [HKG: 9866] was trading down 7.1 percent at HKD82.30 (USD10.49) as of 1.55 p.m. today. Its New York-listed stock [NYSE: NIO] closed 1.2 percent down at USD10.89 yesterday.

Net loss was CNY6.1 billion (USD830.5 billion) in the three months ended June 30, compared with CNY2.6 billion a year earlier, the Hefei-based firm said in its latest financial report yesterday. Revenue fell 14.8 percent to CNY8.8 billion.

Nio’s research and development expenses soared 55.6 percent to CNY3.3 billion in the second quarter, exceeding CNY3 billion for the third consecutive quarter.

Nio delivered 23,520 cars in the second quarter of the year, down 6.1 percent from the same period last year. Vehicle sales dropped 24.9 percent to CNY7.2 billion, mainly because of a lower average selling price due to a higher proportion of ET5 and 75 kilowatt-hours standard-range battery pack sales and the decrease in delivery volume.

For the third quarter, Nio expects to deliver 55,000 to 57,000 units, up between 74 percent and 80.3 percent from a year earlier. The carmaker’s revenue will likely increase 45.3 percent to 50.1 percent to CNY18.9 billion to CNY19.5 billion (USD2.6 billion to USD2.7 billion). Both figures would be new records.

“Attributed to the product transition based on the NT2.0 Platform, coupled with the expansion of our power network and the strengthening of our sales capabilities, we expect a solid growth in vehicle deliveries in the second half,” said Nio’s Chief Executive William Li.

In September, Nio will launch an upgraded version of mid-size sport utility vehicle EC6, which will mark the completion of the transition to the NT2.0 Platform, Li added, noting that Nio’s NT2.0 Platform lineup will feature eight different models, promoting the steady growth of deliveries.

Editor: Futura Costaglione