Chinese EV maker Nio posts bigger quarterly loss, sees higher deliveries

Nov 10 (Reuters) – Chinese electric automaker Nio Inc (9866.HK), on Thursday reported a bigger quarterly loss due to a jump in costs, and said it expects deliveries to almost double in the current quarter.

Most Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are battling higher battery prices, intensifying competition and a rise in cost of sales.

Sales at Nio, Xpeng Inc (9868.HK) and Li Auto Inc (2015.HK) have surged in recent quarters on robust demand, helping them emerge as strong rivals to home-grown BYD Co (002594.SZ) and U.S.-based Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

Nio expects deliveries of its vehicles, which include hybrids, EVs and fuel-cell units, to be between 43,000 and 48,000 for the fourth quarter. It delivered 31,607 vehicles in the third quarter.

The premium EV market player’s vehicle sales rose 38.2% and deliveries jumped 29.3% from last year.

Shanghai-based Nio said net loss attributable widened to 4.14 billion yuan ($571.20 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 2.86 billion yuan a year earlier.

($1 = 7.2479 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Riya Sharma and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath