"China's First State-Owned Enterprise New Energy Stock" Arrives! Avatr Automobile Debuts on Hong Kong Stock Exchange Today, Drops Over 13% on First Day

Ask AI · How will the delisting of Dongfeng Motor Group and the listing of Lantu reshape the new energy vehicle landscape?

Red Star Capital Bureau, March 19 — Today, Lantu Auto (07489.HK) officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On its first day of trading, Lantu Auto opened below its IPO price, reaching HKD 6.51 per share during the session, briefly dropping over 13%. By midday, the stock closed down 8%, at HKD 6.9 per share, with a market capitalization of HKD 25.4 billion.

Red Star Capital Bureau notes that current listed new energy vehicle brands include XPeng Motors-W (09868.HK), NIO (9866.HK), Li Auto (02015.HK), Leapmotor (09863.HK), and BYD (002594.SZ). This makes Lantu Auto the “First State-Owned Enterprise New Energy Stock.”

Screenshot from Eastmoney.com

Just the day before (March 18), Dongfeng Motor Group withdrew from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On March 11, Dongfeng Motor Group officially suspended trading, with its stock price settling at HKD 9.54 per share.

From announcing the listing plan to officially listing on Hong Kong’s stock market, Lantu Auto took about half a year.

On August 22, 2025, Dongfeng Group announced that its subsidiary, Lantu Auto, would be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange via introduction, with Dongfeng Group completing privatization and delisting simultaneously. The transaction adopts a “share distribution + absorption merger” model, with the two core steps mutually dependent and progressing in tandem.

In October 2025, Lantu Auto submitted its listing application, received preliminary approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 29 this year, and obtained conditional approval on February 11. On March 9, the proposal for Lantu Auto’s listing via introduction on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was approved by a high vote at the company’s extraordinary general meeting and H-share shareholder meeting.

Notably, Dongfeng Motor Group announced its final sales and production report two days before suspension.

In February this year, Dongfeng Group sold 89,800 vehicles, down 17.7% year-over-year, falling below the 100,000 mark; among these, new energy vehicle sales reached 28,400 units, up 19.3% YoY. By brand, in the independent camp, Yipai Technology sold 12,352 units, down 12.2% YoY and down 41.9% from the previous month; Lantu Auto sold 8,358 units, up 4% YoY but down 20.5% MoM; MENGSHI Technology sold 1,033 units, a YoY increase of over 900% and a MoM growth of 17.1%.

In the joint venture sector, in February, Dongfeng Nissan (including Infiniti and Venucia) sold 16,000 units, down 48.9% YoY and 66% MoM; Zhengzhou Nissan sold 4,360 units, up 51.5% YoY and 7% MoM; Dongfeng Honda sold 18,000 units, up 2.3% YoY and 43.4% MoM; French PSA’s Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën sold 3,302 units, down 31.3% YoY and 27% MoM.

Industry insiders believe this demonstrates the necessity of spinning off Lantu Auto from Dongfeng Group to list separately.

Dongfeng Group previously stated that before the merger, due to intensified industry competition and other factors, the company’s H-share was undervalued for a long time, losing its function as a financing platform for Dongfeng’s H-shares. Through the merger, the remaining business of the company will delist from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, allowing Dongfeng to focus on developing the new energy vehicle industry and integrating high-quality resources into strategic emerging industries.

From 2018 to 2024, Dongfeng Group’s sales volume declined consecutively, with only a slight YoY increase of 0.01% in 2025, dropping from 3.05 million units in 2018 to about 1.9 million in 2025.

Lantu Auto is one of the few segments under Dongfeng Group that has shown strong growth. According to the prospectus, from 2023 to 2025, Lantu’s sales will grow from 50,000 to 150,000 units, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 73%. During the same period, revenue will increase from 12.75 billion yuan to 34.86 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 65.4%. In 2025, the company achieved a net profit of 1.02 billion yuan, with a gross profit margin of 20.9%, making it the fastest-growing new energy vehicle company in the industry to turn profitable in a single quarter and achieve positive operating cash flow.

Red Star News Reporter Wu Danru

Editor: Xiao Shiqing

Reviewer: Guan Li

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Lantu’s first day of listing saw a drop of over 13%, revenue and sales doubled, but profit reached 1.02 billion yuan with 1 billion yuan in government subsidies.