Motors Tracker

  Evergrande Health Industry Group, which is spearheading Chinese property developer Evergrande Group's foray into the electric vehicle sector, will change its name to China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group before the Hong Kong stock market opens on Sept. 1, the firm said yesterday .   The company's stock ticker [HKG:0708] will remain unchanged, it added. The firm has become the country's most valuable emerging NEV maker with a market cap of HKD222.9 billion (USD28.7 billion), more than rival Nio which was worth USD21.1 billion as of the close of markets yesterday. Evergrande Health is developing its NEV business at full speed and aims to become the world's largest and most powerful green energy car company within the next three to five years, the Guangzhou-based firm said on July 27.   The firm unveiled six vehicle prototypes on Aug. 3. Pricing and other details have yet to be revealed.

Xpeng, a Chinese smart electric vehicle producer, seeks to raise USD1.1 billion from its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange  with a ticker ‘ XPEV ’, being the 3 rd  Chinese carmaker to get listed in the  world ’ s largest capital market  after Nio and Li Auto.  The Guangzhou-based firm is selling 85 million American depository shares (ADS) with a price between USD11 and USD13, according to the firm’s files submitted to the US Stock Exchange Commission  yesterday . XPeng ’ s market capitalization is expected to be USD9.17 billion if the share price is fixed at USD13.  BofA Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) and J.P. Morgan Securities are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering and as representatives of the underwriters.  Simplicity Holding Limited holds 2 6.4  percent of XPeng, the e-commerce giant Taobao China Holding holds 14.4  percent, IDG entity has 6.2 percent, while the executive team has 4...

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest power battery maker, and Mercedes-Benz are upgrading their partnership with the aim of giving the German carmaker’s new EQS luxury sedan mileage of over 700 kilometers and double the charging speed of current models. The arrangement includes the full range of battery technologies, including cells and entire battery systems, along with the shared development of cutting-edge technology, Ningde, Fujian province-based CATL said in a statement yesterday. “Mercedes invented the car more than 130 years ago and has developed its technology with countless innovations,” CATL founder and Chief Executive Robin Zeng said. “This combined with CATL's expertise in battery, will be a decisive step to both parties' electrification strategies.” The collaboration will make CATL a leading supplier of Mercedes-Benz, under Stuttgart-based auto giant Daimler, to guarantee the battery supplies of the EQ series in the n...

Xiaopeng Motors, one of China's leading electric vehicle startups, has raised USD300 million in its expanded C+ round of funding, led by Alibaba Group Holding and participated by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, according to an insider. "The [fundraising] process is basically finalized," tech news outlet 36Kr reported, citing an insider who wished to remain anonymous. The Hangzhou-based tech giant delivered most of the fresh funds, the person added. Alibaba has participated in the company's previous rounds of funding. The Guangzhou-based target firm has declined to comment on the development. Chinese tech companies have been keen to invest in new energy vehicle startups as Tencent Holdings is the second-largest shareholder of Nio, Meituan Dianping was the biggest shareholder of Li Auto before its recent initial public offering, and Baidu has a stake in WM Motor Technology. Founded in 2014, Xpeng Motors raised nearly USD500 million previously as part o...

A unit of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group unveiled an impressive six new energy vehicle prototypes under its Hengchi brand today at special events held in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Healthcare service firm Evergrande Health Industry Group, which is shifting its main line of business to the electric vehicle sector, revealed a range of high-end, ultra-luxurious, pure electric sedans, sports utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles numbered Hengchi 1 to Hengchi 6. The cars are designed by Denmark’s Anders Warming, the US’ Michael Robinson and Japan’s Maruyama Satomi, part of a global automotive design alliance formed last year by group Chairman Xu Jiayin. Mass production of the vehicles will begin next year, the Shenzhen-based firm said. Evergrande’s NEV production base plant in Guangzhou, southern Guangdong province, will go into operation in September or October, according to tech media 36Kr. The firm intends to build 10 vehicle manufacturing and core technology parts plants ...

Li Auto, which had finished signing up share subscribers early, rose 43 percent on its first trading day on the Nasdaq yesterday, becoming the second Chinese new energy vehicle startup to list in the US after Nio. The Beijing-based firm's stock price [NASDAQ: LI] closed at USD16.46 with a USD13.9 billion market cap. It had started trading at USD15.50 in the morning and its initial public offering price was USD11.50 apiece. Set up in July 2015, Li Auto announced on June 24 that it had finished a USD550 million Round D financing, raising its value to USD4.1 billion. Besides fundraising purposes, an IPO should be good for talent acquisition and branding, founder Li Xiang told Tencent Tech. He had a quarter of the company's shares before the IPO and more than 70 percent of the voting rights, based on the prospectus. Meituan Dianping and its Chief Executive Wang Xing had a combined 24 percent stake. In the first quarter, Li Auto tripled its revenue to CNY852 million (USD121.9 millio...

Chinese healthcare service firm Evergrande Health Industry Group is proposing to change its name to China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group as it sees its main line of business shifting to the electric vehicle sector, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. The company, which is a unit of one of China’s largest property developers Evergrande Group, is developing its NEV business at full throttle and aims to become the world’s largest and most powerful green energy car company within the next three to five years, the Guangzhou-based firm said. The proposal still needs to be approved by shareholders and the Registrar of Companies in the Hong Kong, it added. Evergrande Health’s heavy investment in its NEV business,   which is still in the development stage, led to losses of CNY4.95 billion (USD707 million) last year on revenue of CNY5.64 billion. Fixed assets and equipment still need to be purchased and research and development costs remain high, it said in an...

Hozon Auto, a new energy vehicle startup that named its marque after the Chinese mythological character Nezha, has launched a C-round financing and plans to go public in Shanghai next year. Hozon Auto aims to list on the Star Market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s science and technology innovation board, the report said today, citing an insider at the Shanghai-based carmaker who did not provide further details. Founded in 2014, Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, Hozon Auto’s operator, has completed four financing rounds that raised CNY6.3 billion (USD900 million). Hozon Auto founder Fang Yunzhou worked at Chery Automobile for 16 years and led that company’s NEV research and development efforts. Hozon Auto has two models on the market: the Neta N01, called the Nezha N01 in China, which starts at CNY66,800 (USD9,558.60) after government subsidy, and the Neta U, or Nezha U, priced at CNY139,800. It is now planning to launch a third marque this year. In the first half, Hozon Auto sold 5,...

Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology finished its nearly USD500 million C+ round financing, the Chinese electric carmaker said today. The major investors are Aspex Management HK, Coatue Management, Hillhouse Capital Group and Sequoia Capital China. Xiaopeng provided no further details. Founded in 2014, the company produces internet-enabled e-cars for young consumers.   It has secured the production license for its self-built fully-owned factory in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province in May 2020. The Company announced its Series C funding round of US$400 million in November 2019.     

China is organizing a campaign to bring more new energy vehicles to the countryside, and car-makers including BYD, the Great Wall, Changan and Chery are expected to participate.  Promotional events will last about one month from August to late September in Qingdao, Haikou, Kuming, Chengdu and Taiyuan, said the the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce in a notice issued today.  Car models to be included in this campaign  are as follows:  EC3, Beijing EV, EC3 CNY73,800 - 79,800 ORA R1 and ORA IQ, Great Wall, ORA R1 CNY69,800 - 79,800 ORA iQ CNY114,800 - 124,800 Baojun E100, Baojun E200, Hongguang MIMI EV, SAIC-GM-Wuling Motor Baojun E100 CNY49,800 - 59,800  Baojun E200 CNY54,800 - 64,800 Benben E-star, Changan EV Benben E-star CNY69,800 - 74,800 Chery EQ1, Chery EV Chery EQ1 CNY 59,800 - 78,800 iEV6E, JAC Motors IEV6E CNY59,500 - 75,500 Yuan, E1, E2, E3, BYD Yuan CNY59,900 - 78,...

J&R Optimum Energy’s will supply power batteries for an electric version of the resurrected Hummer, a brand of trucks and sport utility vehicles. The deal is expected to generate revenue of about CNY2.4 billion (USD343.4 million) for J&R Optimum, the Xi’an-based company said in a statement yesterday. Hummer, which gained global fame during the Gulf War and was later discontinued because of high fuel consumption, is likely to be revived as an electric vehicle in the Chinese market. J&R Optimum said yesterday that 200,000 are expected to be made over the next five years and it will provide the lithium batteries, with a minimum total capacity of 3 Gigawatt hours. J&R Optimum will partner with Hummer Chongqing New Energy Technology Development, which holds the brand’s license, to jointly develop the Hummer G1.5 and cooperate in the vehicle’s battery support, launch and operation and battery retrieval, the statement added, without providing further details. J&R Optimum’s...

Nio's stock price rose to a historic high after it said that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, the new energy vehicle maker's second-biggest shareholder, has bought more shares. Nio's equity price [NYSE: NIO] reached an all-time high of USD16.44 intraday yesterday in New York, after which it closed 7.6 percent down at USD13.84, with a market cap of USD15.4 billion. This year, the shares have nearly quadrupled in price. Tencent had a 16.3 percent stake in Nio as of July 8, according to the Shanghai-based car company's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The Shenzhen-based internet firm has been increasing its holdings lately. Nio issued 60 million American Depositary Shares on June 9 at a price of USD5.97 and Tencent bought 1.7 million of them, spending USD10 million. It had a 15.1 percent stake after that.  

Chinese automaker BYD yesterday released its first vehicle equipped with the company's patented blade battery, the Han model. The vehicle is regarded as the major rival to the Tesla Model 3 in China. The company’s shares [SHE:002594] rose 6.83 percent to CNY95.08 (USD13.46) by mid-morning on the release. The BYD Han has three battery electric vehicle models with subsidized prices from CNY230,000 (USD32,848.23) to CNY279,500. Tesla Model 3 sells for more than CNY271,500 after subsidies in China. The blade battery is Shenzhen-based BYD's proprietary patented product. It is more stable than conventional ternary lithium and lithium   iron phosphate batteries and supplies more power on one charge. The Han BEV ultra-long life battery version can run 605 kilometers upon one top up, while the hybrid DM version can go more than 800 kilometers. The China-made Tesla Model 3 with a ternary lithium battery produced by LG Chem can run only 468 kilometers on one charge, by contrast. The BYD H...

Meituan Dianping-backed Li Auto is looking to raise USD100 million in its upcoming initial public offering on the Nasdaq as the second Chinese new energy vehicle maker to ever go public in the States after Nio whose stock price has been surging this month. Li Auto, which has already delivered more than 10,000 Li One vehicles, submitted its prospectus with the Securities and Exchanges Commission on July 10. But it didn't disclose its scale of issuance nor pricing details. Founded in April 2015, the Beijing-based firm launched its first model, a six-seater sport utility vehicle, last November. In the past two years, China's auto sales downturn and reduced subsidies have caused competition among manufacturers to further intensify. But some of the popular US-listed sellers, such as Tesla and Nio, have seen their stock prices surge in the past few months. Nio, which went public in September 2018, has had its shares [NYSE: NIO] nearly double in price this month. At this point, Li Aut...

Chinese new energy vehicle start-up Nio, which is fast running out of money, has secured CNY10.4 billion (USD1.5 billion) in loans from the local branches of six big state-owned banks. The Anhui province branches of the China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China together with the Industrial Bank and China Merchant’s Bank’s Hefei offices agreed to extend the loans today. The good news saw a collective surge in the shares of mainland-listed NEV makers. Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group [SHA:600418], also known as JAC Motors and also based in Hefei, hit the exchange-imposed daily limit of 10 percent to reach CNY11 (USD1.57). BYD [SHE:002594] had climbed 7 percent to CNY90 a share by early afternoon.

China’s automobile market continued to recover last month as the Covid-19 pandemic came under control and the economy revived, while the market share of luxury cars hit a new high of 14.9 percent. About 1.7 million passenger cars sold in China in June, continuing steady growth over four straight months, but still a 6.2 percent annual slump, mainly because many auto prices were discounted last year due to the shift from the fifth-phase national emission standards to the sixth,thus inducing a higher baseline for comparison. Retail sales of passenger cars nationwide totaled 7.7 million in the first half in a yearly drop of 23 percent stemming from the fallout of Covid-19 and China’s Lunar New Year holiday that proceeded its full onslaught, according to statistics the China Passenger Car Association released yesterday. Luxury car sales grew a yearly 27 percent in a 9 percent rise over May, with a record 14.9 percent market share, spurred by demand for high-end vehicles as a consequence of ...