Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co. Ltd. has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, disclosing a combined loss of $1.6 billion over three years as it spent heavily on research and development. The electric vehicle (EV) maker's unit sales dropped by more than half year-on-year to 20,160 in the first five months of 2026, down from 43,700 in the same period of 2025. The filing comes as Avatr seeks to charge up its finances despite a challenging market environment, with parent Chang’an Automobile Group pledging full support.

The latest listing document shows strong topline revenue growth, rising nearly 70% in 2025 to 25.6 billion yuan ($3.77 billion) from 15.2 billion yuan in 2024. Unit sales growth was equally dramatic, increasing from 20,021 units in 2023 to 122,702 vehicles in 2025. However, the company’s bottom line remains in the red, with a loss of 3.5 billion yuan in 2025, though this was 15% narrower than the 2024 loss. Gross margins improved to 9.4% in 2025 from 6.3% in 2024, following a negative figure in 2023.

Financial Performance

Strategic Focus and Challenges

Avatr’s losses are attributed to high R&D expenses, which totaled 2.1 billion yuan in 2025, or 8% of revenue, roughly triple the 660 million yuan spent in 2023. The company operates an asset-light model, sourcing batteries from CATL and intelligent drive technology from Huawei, while Chang’an provides manufacturing. Avatr has launched four models since 2022, priced between 200,000 yuan ($29,437) and 700,000 yuan.

The company’s sales decline in early 2026 outpaced the broader market, as China’s domestic passenger NEV sales fell 19.7% year-on-year in the same period. Overseas performance was also weak, with just 2,949 vehicles sold abroad in the first five months of 2026 through a network of 95 distribution points in 43 countries. Avatr aims to expand to over 80 countries by 2030 and launch 17 new models by the same year, supported by Chang’an’s goal of selling 5 million units globally by 2030.