Electric carmaker NIO prepares for U.S. IPO

Chinese electric car startup NIO plans to raise up to 2 billion U.S. dollars in a New York IPO by the end of this year, according to report from Caixin.

Visitors look at the EP9, an electric-powered supercar manufactured by NIO during a promotion event at a shopping mall in Beijing on September 11, 2017. [Photo: AP]

The Shanghai-based company has reportedly engaged 10 investment banks to work on the offering, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

If the company reaches its top potential offering size, it would become the largest Chinese listing in America in recent years.

As Reuters reports, the move is expected to help expand NIO's development and investment in areas such as self-driving and battery technologies.

The company declined to comment on its reported plan to go public, saying that the most important task for NIO is to ensure the delivery of its electric cars.

Deliveries of NIO's first mass production vehicle, the ES8, will start in April.

Founded in 2014, NIO has raised 1 billion U.S. dollars in its latest round of financing led by Tencent.

Pedestrians walk past NIO's fourth experience center, NIO House, in Guangzhou on January 23, 2018. [Photo: IC]

China's government has been promoting the development of intelligent vehicles by implementing measures including building support facilities and providing subsidies to customers who buy new energy cars.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that 777,000 new energy vehicles were sold in China last year.