Seres, Huawei's Top EV Ally, Seeks Hong Kong IPO to Fund Global Push
Seres Group, a key partner in Huawei Technologies' automotive alliance and one of China's fastest-growing electric-vehicle makers, has passed its Hong Kong stock exchange listing hearing, paving the way for what could be the city's largest auto IPO of 2025. The move is designed to bankroll an ambitious global expansion plan as the company looks to capitalize on its dramatic domestic success.
The Shanghai-listed automaker, which currently boasts a market capitalization of RMB 260.6 billion yuan (US$36.1 billion), is being sponsored by China International Capital Corp. and China Galaxy International. If successful, the listing would inject a high-profile technology and manufacturing player into a Hong Kong IPO market that is enjoying a major resurgence this year.
Seres's pursuit of a dual listing follows a period of explosive growth, largely fueled by the runaway success of its AITO brand, which is co-developed with Huawei. In 2024, the company’s revenue surged by 305% to RMB 145.18 billion, with its net profit reaching RMB 5.95 billion. This performance, underpinned by a gross margin of 26.2%, elevated Seres to become only the fourth profitable new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer in the world.
The IPO proceeds are earmarked for expanding Seres’s presence into 62 countries and regions, including the potential construction of local production facilities. The listing represents a significant test of international investor appetite for Chinese EV champions and underscores a broader trend of established mainland companies using Hong Kong as a springboard for global capital and market share.
Surging Profits Fuel Expansion Bid
The automaker's financial turnaround has been swift and decisive. After a staggering 305% year-over-year revenue increase in 2024, Seres continued its strong momentum into 2025, reporting RMB 62.4 billion in revenue and RMB 29.4 billion in net profit for the first half of the year. This performance has been mirrored in the public markets, where the A-shares of its predecessor, Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, have seen their value multiply roughly 35 times over the past nine years.
This success is intrinsically linked to the market dominance of its AITO vehicle lineup. The AITO M7 has become the best-selling model in China’s RMB 300,000-plus price segment, while the high-end AITO M9 leads sales in the market for cars priced above RMB 500,000. The company has earned a reputation for rapid, high-volume deliveries immediately following a model's launch, a crucial advantage in the competitive NEV landscape.
Riding a Wave of 'A+H' Listings
Seres is tapping into a Hong Kong market that is experiencing a significant revival. As of the end of September 2025, IPO fundraising on the exchange reached HK$182.9 billion, a 229% increase from the previous year and already surpassing the full-year total for 2024. The influx of capital from global sovereign wealth and long-term funds has been so strong that firms like J.P. Morgan have expanded their Asia-Pacific investment banking teams to meet demand.
The surge is largely powered by the popularity of "A+H" dual listings, where companies already public on mainland China's A-share market seek a secondary listing in Hong Kong. These companies now account for 70% of all funds raised on the exchange, with over 50 more A-share firms currently in the pipeline. Seres exemplifies the new archetype of this trend: a proven, profitable industry leader seeking a global platform rather than a lifeline.
A Founder's Strategic Foresight
Behind Seres's rise is its low-profile founder, Zhang Xinghai, a 40-year veteran of Chinese industry. His career has been marked by a keen ability to anticipate manufacturing trends. He started in 1986 by making washing machine springs, eventually capturing 90% of the Chinese market with a proprietary "square-wire spring" technology. In the 1990s, he pivoted to motorcycle shock absorbers just as the market boomed.
His entry into the automotive sector came in 2003 through a joint venture with state-owned Dongfeng Motor to produce the popular and affordable Dongfeng Sokon minivan. In 2016, immediately after taking his company public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Zhang made his most prescient move: founding Seres to enter the nascent NEV sector, a decision that initially puzzled many observers.
Building a Foundation for Partnership
While the partnership with Huawei has been a clear catalyst, Seres's success was not a matter of luck. Founder Zhang Xinghai laid the groundwork years in advance to make the company an attractive partner. In 2017, Seres acquired the company and technical team of Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, secured one of China’s first coveted NEV production licenses, and began building a state-of-the-art "Industry 4.0" smart factory.
This facility, which boasts a 100% automation rate, was precisely what Huawei needed in 2019 as it sought a manufacturing partner capable of rapidly implementing and testing its advanced smart-driving and cockpit technologies. The synergy was immediate: Huawei provided the core intelligent systems, while Seres offered the vehicle development, manufacturing infrastructure, and high-quality production needed for efficient mass-market deployment.
A New Chapter of 'Independent Growth'
Today, Seres remains the flagship partner within Huawei's expanded Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), which now also includes Chery, BAIC Motor, and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile. Despite the new additions, the AITO brand continues to be the alliance's top performer.
The Hong Kong IPO is seen as the next logical step in Seres’s evolution toward what some observers call "cooperative independent growth." This follows a RMB 5 billion investment the company secured in June 2025 and is aimed at giving Seres the financial firepower to execute its global strategy. For investors, the listing marks the arrival of a proven industry leader and a new force in the global automotive market.