(Yicai Global) Oct. 22 -- After a report its GAC New Energy Automobile’s Aion electric vehicle brand is to operate independently and may seek an initial public offering, GAC New Energy insiders cited regulations barring them from discussing details of the plan to Yicai Global.

The Aion brand will run itself under the same name and may seek a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style Star Market in future, Chinese business media Time Finance reported yesterday.

GAC New Energy's parent Guangzhou Automobile Group’s stock [HKG:2238] traded 0.13 percent down at HKD7.50 (97 US cents) this afternoon after rising to HKD7.65 yesterday on the news.

GAC New Energy’s registered capital rose 81 percent from CNY782.7 million (USD116.43 million) to CNY1.4 billion (USD208.26 million) on Oct. 19. This normal capital increase from shareholders is to go toward research and development of new technologies and products, the firm said, while also confirming Aion’s independent operation from next month. More information will be released on GAC New Energy’s Brand Night next month, it added.

Unleashing Aion is reasonable as just about all carmakers are developing independent NEV brands, said Zhou Lijun, an analyst at Bitauto Research Institute. GAC New Energy may thus become the second independent marque under Guangzhou Automobile Group, along with GAC Trumpchi, and this will help increase the group’s overall valuation.

GAC New Energy may well go public on its own, stated Bai Yiyang, a researcher at CMB International Capital, adding its self-operation may render it more flexible and help concentrate resources both within and outside the group. The capital market places a premium value on the NEV industry and GAC New Energy may thereby gain more funding for R&D and marketing, Bai noted.

The EV maker, which formed in 2017, is a wholly-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group unit. Its business scope includes NEV-related technology development and battery charging services.

GAC New Energy mainly sells the Aion S, Aion V and Aion XL models, the first of which, the Aion S, came out in April last year.

The company sold 7,006 vehicles last month in 75 percent growth over a year earlier. Its cumulative sales in the first nine months were 38,000 vehicles, also 75 percent higher on the year. Among them, the Aion series sold 6,875 units last month, up 72 percent, to claim 98 percent of total sales.

Editor: Ben Armour