Chinese electric car start-up WM Motor files to go public in Hong Kong

BEIJING — Chinese electric powered automobile start out-up WM Motor submitted Wednesday to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Trade.

Also recognised as Weltmeister, the electrical vehicle business disclosed its once-a-year losses doubled around the past three decades to 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), while earnings much more than doubled through that time, increasing by about 170{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} to 4.7 billion yuan in 2021.

The community variation of the filing did not include things like pricing information.

While China’s electric automobile industry is the greatest globally and a speedy-escalating a person, automakers these types of as BYD and Tesla dominate revenue. Chinese get started-ups these types of as Nio and Xpeng — each listed in the U.S. and Hong Kong — have created headlines, but nonetheless have a tiny portion of the industry.

WM Motor has sold even less cars and trucks. The firm claimed in the filing that as of Dec. 31, it has bought 83,495 electric autos given that its to start with model released in September 2018.

Xpeng released its first model around the very same time, and stated its cumulative deliveries arrived at 137,953 as of the end of December. Nio stated its cumulative deliveries totaled 167,070 as of the close of December, though it launched its very first motor vehicle about a 12 months right before its start off-up rivals.

WM Motor CEO Freeman Shen advised CNBC in January he expected desire for electric powered cars in China this yr to practically double from previous calendar year. He claimed, having said that, chip shortages and Covid-related source chain disruptions would maximize expenses for corporations creating the vehicles.

WM Motor’s SUVs and sedans promote in a price range of about 160,800 yuan to 280,000 yuan, the filing confirmed. That is comparable to Xpeng’s selling price array.

The company claimed in Wednesday’s submitting its aggressive pros contain a concentration on the mainstream industry, self-owned producing amenities and robust research and advancement capabilities.

As of the close of past calendar year, the filing confirmed WM Motor invested 20.7{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} of profits on exploration and improvement, although Xpeng noted it put in 19.6{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} of revenue on these exploration.

On the other hand, Xpeng has extra than triple the headcount at 13,978 workforce as opposed to WM Motor’s 3,952, filings confirmed for the conclude of previous yr.

WM Motor explained it experienced 1,141 personnel in exploration and enhancement, or 28.9{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} of a whole headcount. Manufacturing personnel accounted for the biggest share, at 54.1{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9}.

For comparison, Xpeng stated its income and promoting team accounted for the biggest share of its employees, at 45{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9}. A full of 5,271 research and development workers accounted for 38{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} of headcount.