Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto Inc, backed by food delivery giant Meituan Dianping, has filed for a U.S. initial public offering. The move, announced on the 10th July 2020, comes as share prices of EV makers including Tesla Inc and Nio Inc have surged in recent months.
Five-year-old Li Auto, previously known as CHJ Automotive, is building Li ONE extended-range electric sport-utility vehicles in China’s eastern city of Changzhou. Li ONE vehicle can run on electricity or gasoline. It has 21 sales outlets in China and aims to increase the sales outlets to 60 by the year 2020.
In a filing to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Li Auto said it plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LI”. Reuters reported in January that Li Auto-applied for a U.S. initial public offering, to raise about $500 million.
