Chinese EV maker AVATR raises over $411m at post

Chinese smart electric vehicles firm AVATR Technology, backed by state-run automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile and EV battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), said on Thursday that it has secured 3 billion yuan ($411.5 million) in a Series B financing round.

The news comes as another major transaction in the Chinese EV sector this week after Hozon New Energy Automobile sealed a 7-billion-yuan ($960.2 million) cross-over financing round on Wednesday.

The Chongqing-headquartered smart EV maker saw a number of new state-affiliated investors participate in the round, including the 200-billion-yuan ($27.4 billion) Chongqing Industry Investment Fund of Funds (FoF); BoCom Financial Asset Investment, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Communications; and Guangzhou Development District Holding Group Limited.

Existing shareholders, including Changan Automobile; South Industry Assets Management, the subsidiary of state-owned China South Industries Group Corporation; and Liangjiang Industry Fund, have also re-upped.

Founded in 2018, AVATR Technology currently has two models, including AVATR 11 and AVATR 011 — both of which are emotional intelligence (EI)-based electric SUVs equipped with Huawei’s intelligent vehicle solution and CATL’s batteries.

Post-financing, Changan Automobile’s 40.99% stake remains unchanged, while South Industry Assets Management will see its equity stake rise from 7.35% to 7.81%, Changan Automobile disclosed in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The latest funding round has brought the firm’s post-money valuation to 20 billion yuan ($2.7 billion). It gives a leg-up to AVATR in the world’s largest EV market that comes with over 94 brands offering 300 EV models at different price points, according to local market research firm Daxue Consulting.

In January, US electric car maker Tesla cut prices for all of its Model 3 and Model Y cars in China by around 6-13.5%, according to Reuters’ calculations. This has prompted at least 40 auto brands operating in China to follow suit and join the price war amid weakening demand, per Daxue Consulting.

A total of 641,005 units of new-energy passenger vehicles were sold to retail customers in July, down 3.6% month-over-month, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The total retail sales in July was up 31.6% compared with the same period last year.