Huang Chunhua, general manager of marketing for Aulton New Energy Group, a leading battery swap company, said in an interview with the China Securities Journal on Wednesday that the company has started preparations for the IPO and will soon start financing the Round C will begin.
Established in 2016, Aulton New Energy is principally engaged in battery swapping and charging services, battery lifecycle management and the commercial operation of battery swapping stations. Since 2018, the Shanghai-based company has closed four rounds of funding from investors including electric vehicle maker NIO, Softbank’s energy subsidiary Sinopec, and CY Capital. The company’s B round of financing reached 1.5 billion yuan (US$223 million).
It is worth mentioning that NIO and Sinopec not only invest in Aulton, but also have cooperative and competitive relationship with Aulton. On April 15, 2021, Sinopec signed strategic cooperation agreements with both Aulton and NIO to expand its battery swap business.
Aulton is currently building or has commissioned more than 610 battery swapping stations, currently covering 36 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Haikou and Sanya. The company plans to operate more than 10,000 battery swapping stations nationwide by 2025, capable of providing services for more than 10 million new energy vehicles. “In the second half of this year, we will launch a new generation of battery swapping stations, and the company’s service goals will shift from businesses to consumers,” Huang said.
Currently, Aulton battery swap stations derive much of their revenue from providing franchise and basic battery swap services. “It typically takes only 3 to 4 years for a battery swap station to break even with political support and effective operation. By the end of this year, our stations in Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya and other cities are expected to break even,” Huang added.
Back in March this year, Yang Ye, co-founder and senior vice president of Aulton New Energy, announced plans for an upcoming C-round financing. Commenting on the upcoming round of financing, Yang said, “At present, leading energy capitals, industrial funds and partners are closely following and are willing to participate in the investment.”
SEE ALSO: NIO opens the first battery swap station in Europe
Things have not been going well for the company, however, as there has been at least one safety incident at one of the company’s battery swap stations recently. A fire broke out at a battery swap station in Beijing’s Shijingshan district on April 19, according to Southern Metropolis Daily. On April 25, the company responded to the incident, saying the cause of the fire was due to a battery short-circuiting in the thermal runaway.
Comments are closed.