Battery Swap Veteran Rushes for Hong Kong IPO, Battery Swapping Model (Stations) Poised to Become the ＂Gas Station＂ of the Electric Vehicle Era

On the evening of December 12, Aulton New Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Aulton") officially submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CMB International serving as the sole sponsor.

Cover of Aulton's prospectus

Aulton was founded on June 16, 2016 in Shanghai by renowned entrepreneurs Mr. Cai Dongqing, Mr. Zhang Jianping, and Ms. Yang Ye. The company focuses on promoting and applying battery swap models for electric vehicles, aiming to establish battery swapping stations as the refueling stations of the EV era—swapping out a blue sky.

Aulton and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shanghai Dianba New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., are veterans with 24 years of deep experience in the battery swapping industry. They have successively provided fast battery swap energy solutions for events such as the Shanghai World Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games, establishing themselves as pioneers and leaders in the battery swap model.

Aulton is now advancing toward a Hong Kong IPO, backed by multiple milestone achievements including "the world's fastest 20-second battery swap speed," "the world's first CE certification for an electric vehicle battery swap system," and "the world's largest cold-region EV battery swap network." According to Frost & Sullivan, based on revenue from battery swap station operations in 2024, Aulton is China's largest independent third-party provider of battery swap solutions. Since its inception, the company has received financial backing from well-known institutions such as NIO Capital, Guangzhou Financial Holdings, and Enze Fund under Sinopec.

I. Aulton's Practice Proves: Battery Swapping Is the Optimal Solution for Rapid Recharging of Electric Taxis, Full of Potential

Electric taxis are production tools characterized by high-frequency usage, intensive operation, and low recharging costs, naturally requiring fast, safe, convenient, and cost-competitive energy replenishment solutions.

The essence of a battery swap station (model) is a hybrid of an electricity storage station and an efficient refueling station. Its operating principle involves orderly storing electrical energy in the station's battery warehouse during periods of low grid demand, then rapidly replacing depleted batteries with fully charged ones when vehicles require energy. Compared to charging, this battery swap model offers advantages in safety, efficiency, and low cost, effectively balancing grid load while meeting users’ energy needs.

According to data disclosed in the prospectus, Aulton has expanded into 16 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Changchun, deploying a network of 521 swap stations. It has managed and circulated over 160,000 batteries, completed more than 100 million efficient swaps, and delivered over 40 billion kWh of energy to 130,000 electric taxis.

Prediction of Heavy-Duty Truck Battery Swap Market

II. Aulton's Discovery: Battery Swapping Is the Only Viable Solution for Long-Range Heavy-Duty Trucks, an Inevitable Path Forward

According to Frost & Sullivan, electric heavy-duty trucks are entering a phase of rapid growth. In 2024, sales of electric heavy-duty trucks reached 77,000 units, with projected sales expected to reach 510,000 units by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 37%. New entrants in electric heavy trucks (e.g., Shenxiang, Lingyi) and autonomous driving companies (e.g., CIDI Intelligent Driving, Karl Dynamics) are increasingly entering the sector.

Meanwhile, due to logistics transportation's high demands for timeliness and extreme sensitivity to cost, battery swapping will become the only viable solution for rapid recharging of electric heavy trucks—especially in applications such as port transport, mining operations, and long-haul freight. Intelligent driving solutions in these scenarios will inevitably integrate deeply with battery swap technology.

As disclosed in the prospectus, Aulton's technology enables 40-second battery swaps for heavy trucks, validated through 10,000 reliability tests. The company is increasing investment and collaborating with multiple electric heavy truck and intelligent driving enterprises to expand application coverage and drive rapid business growth.

Battery Swap Stations Serve as a Bridge in V2G

III. Aulton's Forward-Looking Strategy: Battery Swapping Will Become a Bridge Linking Vehicles and the Next-Generation Smart Grid—Visionary and Achievable

As disclosed in the prospectus, Aulton has independently developed V2S2G technology, creating an integrated energy and data loop connecting “vehicles – swap stations – grid,” enabling three-way bidirectional interaction:

V2S (Vehicle-to-Station): The swap network provides ultra-fast battery replacement for vehicles while aggregating the distributed energy storage capacity of vehicle batteries, forming large-scale, variable-capacity energy storage units.

S2G (Station-to-Grid): Swap stations interact in real time with the power grid, storing electricity during off-peak hours and feeding power back during peak demand. They can also respond to grid requirements for peak shaving and frequency regulation, functioning as distributed energy regulation nodes.

Bidirectional Data Empowerment: Through its proprietary big data platform, Aulton synchronizes vehicle recharging demands with grid load data, enabling intelligent and precise energy dispatching.

IV. Aulton Poised for Growth: Net Losses Sharply Narrowed, Multi-Scenario Expansion Underway, Bright Future Ahead

In terms of operations and financials, as digitalized and精细化 management measures continue to take effect, the company's net losses have significantly narrowed. Prospectus data shows that Aulton recorded net losses of RMB 785 million, RMB 656 million, RMB 419 million, RMB 283 million, and RMB 157 million in 2022, 2023, 2024, and for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Industry insiders believe that as battery swap technology becomes more widespread and expands into more niche applications, Aulton—with its strong product capabilities and closed-loop business model integrating core swap technology R&D, swap network platform operations, and urban distributed energy storage—is poised for accelerated growth, continuing to lead the development of the battery swap industry both in China and overseas.