May 21 (Reuters) - China's XPeng XPEV.N on Wednesday forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, betting on growing demand for its lower-priced electric vehicles.

U.S.-listed shares of the company rose 6.3% in premarket trading.

XPeng is one of the few automakers to weather China’s hypercompetitive EV market, but is yet to turn a profit. In the first quarter, the company reported surging vehicle deliveries, improving gross margin and a narrower loss.

"Despite seasonality for auto sales, our quarterly deliveries hit a new historical high, making us the top-selling automaker among emerging EV companies," CEO Xiaopeng He said.

In August, the company had launched MONA M03, a mid-sized sedan that competes with BYD's Seagull and Dolphin, as well as the higher-priced Tesla Model 3.

The Guangzhou-based company expects to deliver between 102,000 and 108,000 vehicles in the second quarter, which is about 237.7% to 257.5% higher than a year ago.

XPeng forecast second-quarter revenue of 17.5 billion yuan to 18.7 billion yuan, the midpoint of which is above analysts' average estimate of 16.85 billion yuan, according to data compiled by LSEG.

For the first quarter of 2025, Xpeng delivered 94,008 EVs, representing a 330.8% increase compared with the same period last year.

Gross margin stood at 15.6% for the first quarter compared with 12.9% from a year earlier.

Last month, XPeng unveiled its upscale X9 minivan, starting at 359,800 yuan ($49,231), equipped with advanced automated-driving systems.

The company also said it expects to achieve mass production of vehicles with Level 3 autonomous driving features in China by the end of 2025 — a significant step up from the Level 2 systems widely in use.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

((Priyanka.G@thomsonreuters.com;))