This Chinese EV Maker Expects To Sell More Cars Than Nio, XPeng In Q3

The U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle startups Nio, Inc. NIO and XPeng, Inc. XPEV invariably steal peer Li Auto Inc. LI's thunder. The underdog, however, is slowly and steadily emerging from the shadows of the more flamboyant Nio and XPeng.

What Happened: Li Auto announced Monday it expects to deliver between 25,000 and 26,000 vehicles in the third quarter, representing year-over-year growth of 188%-200%.

This compares favorably to deliveries guidance issued by Li's Chinese peers. Nio guided to third-quarter deliveries of 23,000 to 25,000 vehicles and XPeng expects quarterly deliveries to range between 21,000 and 22,500 units. 

Li Auto's third-quarter revenue guidance of 6.98 billion yuan to 7.25 billion yuan ($1.08 billion-$1.12 billion) is notably above the consensus estimate of 5.26 billion yuan.

For the second quarter, Li Auto reported revenues of 5.04 billion yuan, up 40.9% and exceeding the consensus estimate of 4.41 billion yuan.

The company clocked record July deliveries of 8,589 units.

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Why It's Important: Li Auto sells a lone SUV EV model, the Li ONE. In late May, the company launched the latest version of its Li ONE, with improvements in the powertrain system, driving assistance system, intelligent cockpit and user experience. Deliveries of the refreshed model began June 1.

The company is also planning to launch a series of major over-the-air upgrades by the end of the year.

Li Auto's strong guidance is even more commendable because it has come amid a macroeconomic backdrop in which chip shortages have constrained the production of major automakers.

At last check, Li Auto shares were slipping 3.92% to $28.19. 

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