(Yicai Global) Nov. 29 -- Svolt Energy Technology, the electric vehicle battery offshoot of Chinese auto giant Great Wall Motor, plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Star Market in 2022, according to its general manager, after the ambitious company's first production facility opened this week.

Located in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, the new 18 gigawatt-hours factory is being built at a cost of CNY8 billion (USD1.1 billion), The Paper reported, citing GM Yang Hongxin. The first of three phases with a capacity of 4 GWhs has just been completed. By the beginning of 2021, the second phase should have started operation, boosting the plant's capacity to 12 GWhs.

The battery business unit of Baoding, Hebei province-based Great Wall Motors struck out on its own in October last year, positioning itself as a third-party traction battery maker targeting automakers across the world.

Building a new customer base has been easier than expected, Yang said at the factory's opening ceremony on Nov. 27. Instead of seeing Svolt as a rival to Great Wall Motors, carmakers are willing to work with the company because these days only a handful of battery firms can meet their demands, he added.

Many firms have tested Svolt's products, he added. Leading domestic carmakers such as Geely Automobile Holdings, Guangzhou Automobile Group and electric vehicle startup Nio have all given positive feedback. Foreign carmakers including Germany's Audi and Daimler are also trying Svolt's products. The new plant, though, has yet to receive any orders.

"Customers will only place orders after the plant starts production, but many carmakers have expressed such an intention," Yang said. A design review, a preliminary quotation and other steps are needed to confirm the orders, he added.

The firm also plans a 24 GWh European production base. It will spend EUR2 billion (USD2.2 billion) to build a large traction battery plant, an auxiliary factory and a technology research center in Europe, the company said in July. Site selection is ongoing and the project is expected to break ground by early 2021.

Wuxi, Jiangsu province-based Svolt's first round of financing is progressing smoothly and is not connected to the former parent firm, Yang said. Svolt has contacted many investors in both state and private sectors, he added.