On October 2, Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dongfeng Motor Group”) announced that Lantu Motors Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Lantu Motors”) has officially submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Lantu Motors plans to go public through a listing by introduction, with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) as its exclusive sponsor. This marks the substantial stage of Lantu Motors’ listing in Hong Kong.
In fact, since 2023, Lantu Motors has repeatedly discussed the possibility of an IPO. It wasn’t until August of this year that Dongfeng Motor Group officially announced that its subsidiary, Lantu Motors, would list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through a listing by introduction, and Dongfeng Group’s shares would simultaneously complete privatization and delisting. On September 15, Lantu Motors Technology Co., Ltd. completed its restructuring and name change, becoming Lantu Motors Technology Co., Ltd., with its registered capital increasing to 3.68 billion yuan. On September 22, it completed a core management restructuring, with You Zheng stepping down as the legal representative and chairman, succeeded by Lu Fang, along with several other senior management changes.
From Lantu Motors’ plan to list to the submission of its listing application, the entire process took just over a month, which is very fast. According to the announcement, Lantu Motors will adopt the listing by introduction method. “Listing by introduction” is a method for listing already issued securities, where no new shares are issued or financing is involved at the time of listing. Instead, existing shareholders’ securities are listed on the exchange, suitable for cases where securities are already widely held and have good market liquidity. For Lantu Motors, this listing method not only simplifies the listing process but also allows it to synchronize with the privatization and delisting of Dongfeng Group’s shares, quickly achieving a “one-in-one-out” capital restructuring effect.
On September 26, Dongfeng Motor Group released its performance report for the first half of the year. In the first half, Dongfeng Motor Group achieved revenue of 54.533 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 55 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 91.96%. Cumulative sales for the first half were 823,900 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 14.7%. In contrast, Lantu Motors, as a single brand, performed better. According to its prospectus, Lantu Motors achieved revenue of 6.05 billion yuan in 2022, 12.75 billion yuan in 2023, and is projected to reach 19.36 billion yuan in 2024, with the company achieving its first-ever quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the first seven months of this year, Lantu Motors achieved revenue of 15.781 billion yuan, a 90.2% year-on-year growth, with a profit of 434 million yuan.
Lantu Motors is a high-end intelligent electric brand under Dongfeng Motor Group, founded in 2018 and officially launched in July 2020. Its current lineup includes Lantu FREE, Lantu Dreamer, Lantu Zhaiguang, and Lantu Zhiyin models, with plans to release a new Lantu Taishan SUV model. In April this year, Lantu Motors rolled out its 200,000th vehicle. The company plans to achieve an annual sales target of 200,000 units this year. As of the end of September, Lantu Motors has sold a total of 96,992 vehicles this year, a year-on-year increase of 85%.
According to the latest plan, Lantu Motors plans to release 1 to 3 new models every year, with a target of having 6 to 9 models by the end of 2026, covering all categories including SUV/MPV/sedans. The company also plans to expand its domestic retail network to 1,000 locations across over 200 cities by 2026. Additionally, Lantu Motors will continue to expand into strategic markets such as Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, accelerating its global expansion and enhancing its global competitiveness.
Regarding Lantu Motors’ decision to list by introduction, Dongfeng Motor Group had previously stated that Lantu Motors’ performance from 2022 to 2024 was impressive. As the group’s highest-quality new energy asset, Lantu Motors will go public separately, benefiting Dongfeng’s focus on the development of the new energy vehicle industry and integrating high-quality resources into strategic emerging industries. This move will also create long-term and sustainable investment value for Hong Kong stockholders, while further broadening its financing channels through the Hong Kong capital market and enhancing its brand core competitiveness.
