Changan lists 10% of Avatr at a 3.18 billion CNY floor, near its C-round price

Changan Automobile (SZSE: 000625) has put a 10% stake in its premium EV affiliate Avatr up for sale on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, at a floor price of 3.18 billion CNY (c. $474 million). The listing went live on November 12, 2026, with disclosure running to December 10, and the floor implies an equity value of at least 31.8 billion CNY (c. $4.74 billion) for the whole company. Avatr, founded in 2018, sells premium EVs built with Huawei driver-assistance and cockpit technology and CATL batteries.

That works out to about 10.38 CNY per share for the 306.5 million shares on offer, barely above the 10.37 CNY per share that C-round investors paid under a deal signed in December 2024. It is well above a smaller secondary trade from a year ago: on November 21, 2025, PATEO CONNECT (HKG: 2889) agreed to sell 0.24% of Avatr for 62.44 million CNY (c. $9.3 million), a price that implied a valuation of about 26 billion CNY (c. $3.87 billion).

The shares belong to Changan, so the proceeds go to Changan, not Avatr, which raises no new money from the sale. Changan's stake would fall from 40.994% to 30.994%, leaving it the largest shareholder, while CATL (SZSE: 300750), which holds 9.1742%, would slip to third if a single buyer takes the full 10%. The listing came two weeks after Changan pre-listed a capital increase at its wholly owned Changan Technology unit to bring in outside investors.

The sale runs the other way from Changan's last move. Changan owned 95.38% of Avatr in 2020 and has been diluted by successive funding rounds, but in the C round it put in 4.55 billion CNY (c. $678 million) of its own to hold its stake at 40.994%. This time Changan said it wants an investor that can help Avatr build premium-brand sales channels and expand overseas, while it keeps backing Avatr in R&D, manufacturing and the supply chain. Avatr said its main need has shifted from cash to industry partners that fit its product line and overseas plans.

Bidders must post a 500 million CNY (c. $74 million) deposit, about 15.7% of the floor, within one working day of qualifying, and the winner must pay the full price in one installment within 3 working days of signing. Buyers and their affiliates must have no competitive relationship with Avatr, must show lawful funding and must pledge that their money will not affect Avatr's future listing, while coverage of the listing says consortium bids are allowed. If only one qualified bidder comes forward, the stake goes by agreement at no less than the floor and that buyer must, according to those reports, sign within 5 working days. Two or more bidders trigger online, multi-round bidding.

The sale overlaps with Avatr's push to list in Hong Kong. The company first filed with the exchange on November 27, 2025, and refiled on June 30, 2026 after the first application lapsed; Changan has said the listing still needs sign-off from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and the exchange. CITIC Securities and CICC are the joint sponsors. An Avatr official said the stake sale is unrelated to the IPO.

The refiled prospectus puts Avatr's 2025 revenue at 25.63 billion CNY (c. $3.82 billion), up 68.7%, though a report of the exchange listing cites 25.87 billion. Its net loss narrowed to 3.49 billion CNY (c. $520 million) from 4.02 billion CNY (c. $598 million) in 2024 and gross margin rose to 9.4% from 6.3%. Cash and equivalents fell from 19.32 billion CNY (c. $2.88 billion) at the end of 2024 to 6.25 billion CNY (c. $931 million) by April 30, 2026. Operating cash flow was positive at 2.32 billion CNY (c. $345 million) last year, but the refiled prospectus warns that Avatr may post another net loss for 2026.

Avatr's tie to Huawei runs through Yinwang, Huawei's intelligent automotive solutions unit. Avatr agreed in August 2024 to buy 10% of Yinwang for 11.5 billion CNY (c. $1.71 billion), registered the transfer in March 2025 and paid the final 3.45 billion CNY (c. $514 million) installment by October 2025, according to Changan. The stake added 182 million CNY (c. $27 million) to Avatr's 2025 results as its share of the associate's profit.

Avatr 06 sedan in official press imagery; the car carries a roof-mounted lidar unit above the windshield (Avatr)

Volumes are heading the wrong way going into the sale. Avatr reported 7,056 deliveries in October, down from 8,183 in September, a month-on-month drop of about 13.8% and the tenth straight month below 10,000. For the first five months of 2026, Avatr sold 20,160 vehicles, including 2,949 overseas, after delivering 122,702 in 2025.

Domestic retail sales were far lower. Across the six models Avatr has on sale, retail fell to 2,858 in October from 3,046 in September. The 07L, its best seller, dropped to 1,115 from 1,339 and the 07 to 356 from 461, while the 06T rose to 665 from 584 and the 06 to 254 from 200. The 12 was flat at 418 against 424, and the 11 sold 50, up from 38.

Changan has also been pulling Avatr closer to its sister brand Deepal, keeping the two brands separate for customers while sharing back-office resources to cut costs. In September it set up a top-level "AD" coordination department, named for the two brands, to run shared planning, marketing, HR and finance functions, with Deepal chairman Deng Chenghao as general manager. Chen Zhuo, who became Avatr chairman that month with Yong Jun as president, serves as its executive deputy.

Avatr Concept T09 rendering, the SUV concept the brand showed at the Paris Motor Show in October 2026 (Avatr)

Avatr showed its T09 concept in Paris in October, the latest step toward a larger flagship SUV. Whether a second bidder turns up by December 10, 2026, and pushes the price past the floor will be the first open-market read on Avatr's value before Hong Kong investors get theirs.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7152 CNY as of November 13, 2026.