Hozon Auto to Launch HK IPO in 2022

Liujiu Finance reported on Wednesday that it had learned from investors that Chinese electric vehicle startup Hozon Auto may launch its IPO on the Hong Kong Exchange stock in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.

According to the report, Hozon Auto is now carrying out a new round of financing, with a pre-investment valuation of about 22 billion yuan ($3.46 billion). In this round of financing, CATL, Qihoo 360, Shenwan Hongyuan and Aplus Capital led the investment with more than 8 billion yuan. Before the IPO in the next year, Hozon Auto may conduct two more rounds of financing. Hozon Auto responded to the news, saying that “the company didn’t receive relevant news yet”.

However, the investor mentioned above also revealed that Hozon Auto’s main market is currently in Chinese counties but is beginning to explore Southeast Asian and African markets. These markets are still regarded as the blue ocean in terms of market opportunities and the company may benefit from these markets by avoiding direct competition with other big name players within the next 3-5 years.

According to public information, Hozon Auto announced the completion of D1 round financing worth 4 billion yuan in October this year. This round of financing was led by Qihoo 360 with an investment of 2 billion yuan, followed by many well-known investment institutions such as CCB International, CITIC Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (H.K.), and GF Venture Capital. The next round of financing for Hozon Auto is also now underway. At present, Qihoo 360 has invested in Hozon Auto for two consecutive rounds, with a total amount of 2.9 billion yuan.

SEE ALSO: Chinese NEV Supplier Hozon Auto to Raise up to $1 Billion in Pre-IPO Round of Financing

In October, Hozon Auto delivered more than 8,000 units which was second only to Xpeng Motors and Li Auto but surpassed NIO. In November, the delivery volume of Hozon Auto exceeded 10,000 for the first time, ranking fourth among the new companies in the new energy space.

By the end of November, Hozon Auto had delivered a total of 59,547 vehicles this year, with a total delivery volume of 85,850 since its establishment.