The E11 model is positioned as a mid-size SUV, and its design prototype rolled off the production line earlier this year.

(Image credit: Avatr)

After a rebranding process, the joint venture between Nio and Changan Automobile, from which Nio has almost completely withdrawn, is finally going to announce its first product.

Avatr Technology, previously known as Changan Nio, said today that it will hold an "A Day" event in Shanghai on November 15 and will unveil its first model to embrace what it calls the "Emotional Intelligent Electric Vehicle Era".

Changan and Nio formed Changan Nio three years ago as a precedent for a joint venture between an emerging Chinese car company and a legacy carmaker.

However, Changan Nio has been in the preparatory stage for three years and has not launched any mass-produced models so far.

Nio's stake in Changan Nio was sharply reduced from 50 percent to 4.62 percent at the end of last year, while Changan's shareholding increased to 95.38 percent. This was interpreted as Nio's plan to exit Changan Nio.

At the end of May this year, Changan Nio announced its name change to Avatr Technology, the new name does not carry "Nio", marking the end of the legacy carmaker's efforts to explore joint ventures with new carmakers.

Last week, Shenzhen-listed Changan announced that it would bring in a new capital injection totaling RMB 2.42 billion from a number of companies, including power battery giant CATL.

Upon completion of the capital increase, Avatr's registered capital will increase from RMB 288 million to RMB 1.17 billion, and Changan's shareholding will dilute from 95.38 percent to 39.02 percent, with CATL holding 23.99 percent.

Nio did not participate in the capital increase and its shareholding will be diluted from 4.62 percent to 1.13 percent, the announcement said.

The company has previously announced a model in the pipeline.

In an exchange with investors in late May, Changan said the company plans to launch five models in the next five years, the first of which, codenamed E11, will be equipped with the Huawei Inside smart car solution.

The E11, positioned as a midsize SUV, has already rolled out its design prototype and is undergoing full vehicle commissioning, the company said.

At the end of August this year, Changan Chairman Zhu Huarong, Huawei Managing Director and Intelligent Vehicle Solutions BU CEO Richard Yu, and CATL Chairman Robin Zeng officially announced Avatr and released a teaser image of the E11.

The E11 will be built on their co-created intelligent electric networked vehicle architecture CHN, where C stands for Changan, H stands for Huawei and N stands for CATL.

The E11 is a mid-size SUV that will be equipped with Huawei HI (Huawei Inside) intelligent vehicle solutions and CATL's latest electrification technologies.

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