(Bloomberg) — Aichi Automobile, an electric car startup known as Aiways, is investigating an initial public offering in the United States that, according to those familiar with the matter, could happen this year.
The people said the Shanghai-based company was working with insurance companies prior to its listing that could raise about $300 million, and asked not to be identified because they discussed non-public information.
An Aiways representative declined to comment.
The Munich-based European company was seeking funding from investors, including passenger service giant Didi Global, to fuel its global expansion in a deal that could have valued Aiways at more than $2 billion, Bloomberg News reported in January.
Founded in 2017 by Chinese entrepreneurs Samuel Fu and Gary Gu, the startup has a manufacturing base in Shangrao, China, and has an initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. The SUV, known as the Aiways U5 and currently only available in Germany, takes 35 minutes to charge up to 80% from 20% and can travel more than 400 kilometers on a single full charge, according to the site.
This week, Aiways said it will provide at least 500 Aiways vehicles to Finn.auto, the car subscription company. The company said another vehicle, the Aiways U6, will be available in European markets in 2022 and order records are open in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France and Israel.
According to a report by BloombergNEF, the adoption of electric vehicles is expected to accelerate dramatically in the coming years, with sales expected to rise from 3.1 million in 2025 to 14 million in 2025. This will account for 16% of global sales of passenger cars by 2025. 2025, although sales of electric cars in Germany and China are expected to increase by 40% and 25%, respectively, BloombergNEF says.
Other electric car makers have been pursuing mergers in the United States with blank check mergers, including Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. and Canoo Inc. and Fisker Inc. , although many stocks have retreated from their highs.
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