Zotye Auto mulls listing for new-energy auto business

Shanghai, February 24 (Gasgoo.com) China SUV maker Zotye Auto is preparing for a listing for its new-energy vehicle business after raising 720 million yuan ($105 million) last August from 11 domestic companies and ventures, Aftermarket Business reported earlier this week.

Wu Jianzhong, chairman of Zhejiang province-based Zotye Holding Group, recently said the company is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) as early as 2011, a move expected to raise several billion yuan. The company is awaiting regulatory approval for the IPO, sources said.

As one of the first few Chinese automakers approved by the government to make new-energy vehicles, Zotye is likely to seek a separate overseas listing for EV (electric vehicle) business, allowing the company to potentially benefit simultaneously from two financing channels, at home and abroad.

The company is speeding up construction of plants for producing transmissions, engines and complete vehicles in Yiyang, Hunan province, and accelerating the commercialization of its new-energy vehicles, though all these projects require a lot of money, Wu said.

Zotye Auto has been developing all-electric vehicles since 2006, and rolled out the first mass-produced electric vehicle, the Zotye 2008 EV, in Hangzhou city, making Zotye China's first automaker who has launched mass-produced electric vehicles in the market.