Great Wall-linked battery maker SVOLT in talks to raise $770m

SVOLT, an electric vehicle (EV) battery maker linked to China's Great Wall Motor, is in talks with potential investors to raise 3.5 bn yuan (roughly R7,700,600,940), its chairman Yang Hongxin told Reuters.

The valuation of SVOLT before the new funding will be 26bn yuan (roughly R57,087,677,634), Yang said at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. SVOLT aims to go public on Shanghai's Nasdaq-like STAR board next year, Yang said.

SVOLT, which is making EV batteries in Changzhou and Wuxi, will have a global production capacity of battery cells of around 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2025. It is also building a battery factory in Germany.

SVOLT has also acquired a factory to make cylindrical battery cells for mobility business including electric bikes, the chairman said.

EV battery makers in China, including CATL and BYD, have been growing in recent years thanks to booming EV sales in the world's biggest auto market.