Leapmotor, whose ticker symbol is "9863," will raise up to $1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO.

(Image from Leapmotor prospectus)

Leapmotor is expected to begin trading on the Hong Kong stock market in nine days, making it the fourth Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup to go public, following Nio, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto.

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co Ltd plans to offer about 130 million shares in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) priced in a range of HK$48-62 per share, implying fundraising of up to HK$8 billion ($1 billion).

Leapmotor is expected to start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on September 29 under the ticker symbol "9863" with 100 shares per board lot, according to a prospectus released today on the HKEX.

Notably, Leapmotor plans to have its flagship sedan C01 officially launched on September 28, according to information it announced in August.

The company applied for a Hong Kong listing on March 17 and filed the first version of its prospectus with co-sponsors China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Citi, JPMorgan Chase and CCB International.

On August 19, the listing was approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and on August 29, an HKEX filing showed that Leapmotor passed the listing hearing.

Leapmotor was founded in 2015 and currently sells the T03 minicar, the S01 coupe and the C11 flagship SUV.

On May 10, Leapmotor announced its flagship sedan, the C01, and began accepting reservations for a price range of RMB 180,000 ($25,700) - 270,000.

In its latest prospectus, Leapmotor said it is a Chinese smart EV company focused on the mid- to high-end mainstream new energy vehicle (NEV) market in China priced between RMB 150,000 and 300,000.

In 2021, Leapmotor delivered a total of 43,748 EVs, up 443.5 percent from 2020. It delivered 51,994 vehicles in the first half of 2022, up 265.3 percent from the same period in 2021, its prospectus said.

Leapmotor said it is the most vertically integrated emerging EV company in China and one of the most vertically integrated of all NEV companies in the Chinese market.

The company has achieved in-house development, design and manufacturing of all core systems and electronic components for smart electric vehicles, creating the powertrain Leapmotor Power, the autonomous driving system Leapmotor Pilot and the smart cockpit system Leapmotor OS, it said.

Leapmotor plans to launch 1-3 new models per year and a total of seven new all-electric vehicles by the end of 2025, according to its latest prospectus.

To complement its existing offerings, Leapmotor also plans to launch versions of these new models with extended-range technology during the same period or later, based on the technology it has developed in-house.

"We believe that a diverse product portfolio will allow us to better capture the opportunities in China's mid- to high-end mainstream NEV market," the company said.

Leapmotor has a plant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, to produce EVs and core systems and components, with a current annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

To capitalize on the growth of the NEV market, Leapmotor plans to build a new production base in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province to further expand production capacity, its prospectus said.

Leapmotor delivers record 12,525 vehicles in Aug, up 4% from July