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Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng, Inc. (XPEV) reported Thursday ahead of the market open second-quarter revenues that exceeded expectations and improved margin. The loss per share, however, was wider than the consensus estimate. Reflecting strong momentum, the company guided to above-consensus third-quarter revenues and strong deliveries growth.

XPeng's Key Q2 Metrics: The Guangzhou, China-based EV maker reported a second-quarter non-GAAP loss of 1.096 billion yuan or $169.8 million, wider than the year-ago loss of 769.5 million yuan. In the preceding quarter, the company had reported a non-GAAP loss of 696.3 million yuan.

On a per-share basis, the non-GAAP loss was at 1.38 yuan or 21 cents per share. This compares to the year-ago loss of 4.24 yuan per share and the first-quarter loss of 0.99 yuan per share. Analysts, on average, estimated a loss of 1.21 yuan per share for the second quarter.

Revenues climbed 536.7% year-over-year and 27.5% quarter-over-quarter to 3.761 billion yuan or $582.5 million. It exceeded the consensus estimate of 3.44 billion yuan. Vehicle revenues accounted for roughly 95% of the total revenues.

"We delivered another record-breaking quarter with new highs recorded in several key metrics, underscoring an accelerated growth trajectory powered by our full-stack in-house technology capability," said He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng.

Domestic rival Nio, Inc. NIO 0.21% reported forecast-beating second-quarter results in mid-August and issued upbeat guidance for the third quarter.

XPeng's Margins Expand: XPeng noted that gross margin expanded year-over-year from a negative 2.7% to 11.9%, and from 11.2% in the first quarter. Vehicle margin also followed an upward trajectory by expanding from a negative 5.6% in the year-ago quarter and from 10.1% in the first quarter to 11% in Q2.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at $5.09 billion as of June 30.

Quarterly Deliveries at Record: XPeng delivered 17,398 vehicles in the second quarter, a quarterly record, and representing a 439% year-over-year increase and a 30.4% sequential improvement. The momentum continued into July, with the company delivering 8,040 vehicles, comprising 6,054 P7 sedans and 1,986 G3 SUVs.

XPeng Beefs Up Product Lineup: The G3I SUV, a new mid-cycle facelift version of the G3, was launched in July, with deliveries starting in September. The company also commenced pre-sales of its third mass-produced model, the P5, a smart family sedan armed with lidar technology. The P5 will officially be launched in China in September, with deliveries starting in the fourth quarter.

In June, XPeng rolled out Valet Parking Assist, an advanced automated parking function in the Chinese market, which memorizes locations and layouts of frequently used parking spots and enables an advanced driver-assistance system for such parking lots.

XPeng The First Among Chinese Trio to List In Hong Kong: XPeng pursued a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange during the quarter by offering 97,083,300 Class A ordinary shares in a global offering. The company's shares began trading on the exchange on July 7.

XPeng's Q3 Outlook: For the third quarter, XPeng expects vehicle deliveries of 21,500-22,500 units, up an estimated 150.6%-162.3% from a year ago. The company guided quarterly revenues to 4.8 billion yuan to 5 billion yuan, up 141%-153% year-over-year, versus analyst consensus of 3.44 billion yuan.

Price Action: In premarket trading, XPeng shares slipped 3.28% to $39.53.