Chinese EV Maker Leading Ideal Expected to Have a July or August IPO

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-up Leading Ideal is ready to go public in the US in the coming months, multiple sources confirm, while there is a discrepancy on the precise time frame. Some reveal the EV maker will launch its US IPO this month, while some think there’s not enough time for a July IPO and August will be a more realistic timeframe.

Leading Ideal has reportedly Morgan Stanley and UBS as underwriters but the amount of funds raised is not certain at this point. Some market watchers believe that due to the success of EV makers such as Tesla and NIO, Lixiang’s stock is expected to be warmly welcomed in the secondary market and there’s no need to worry about sharing the shares.

SEE ALSO: Leading EV Makers and Their Electric Cars in 2019

Last week, LatePost reported that Leading Ideal was set to receive $550 million in a Series D funding round, led by Meituan, who participated in the C round funding as well. Leading Ideal’s valuation after the new round of financing is expected to reach $4.05 billion.

Until now, Leading Ideal hasn’t responded to the news about the IPO and financing.

Founded in 2015, Leading Ideal delivered its first mass produced model ONE at the end of 2019 and has delivered around 10,000 units during the first half of this year. In a public speech, CEO Li Xiang disclosed that the company’s expansion plan this year had adjusted from 20 stores to 60 stores nationwide. Also, the R&D plan of L4 autonomous driving technology originally scheduled for next year will be launched this year.

Hundreds of new energy vehicle projects have been initiated in China since 2014. This year has clearly witnessed a divergence, with some getting close to being eliminated and some steadily expanding.