(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- Li Auto will go public in Hong Kong next week and plans to raise as much as HKD15 billion (USD1.93 billion) from the listing, the Chinese new energy vehicle startup said in a statement today.

Li Auto passed a listing-related hearing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 26 and has been assigned the stock ticker [HKG:2015]. Goldman Sachs Group and China International Capital are joint sponsors of the electric carmaker’s Hong Kong listing, while UBS Group is the financial adviser.

The Beijing-based company will become only the second Chinese NEV maker after rival Xpeng Motors to join stock markets in both Hong Kong and the United States when it completes its dual initial public offering on Aug. 12. It debuted in New York at the end of last week.

The funds raised will be used in the research and development of high-voltage pure electric vehicle technology, corresponding platforms and future car models, smart vehicles and autonomous driving technologies as well as to expand production capacity, among other uses, according to the company’s prospectus.

Founded in 2015, Li Auto produces cars in Changzhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. The firm went public in the United States on July 30 last year, becoming the second Chinese NEV manufacturer to debut on a US stock market after Nio.

Li Auto has only launched a single vehicle model named One, which sold 8,589 last month, up 251 percent annually. A total of 38,743 units of the vehicle were sold in the first half this year.

According to the prospectus, Li Auto will debut its first car model based on its X Platform, a platform for extended-range electric vehicles, next year. And it plans to launch at least two high-voltage pure electric vehicle models a year from 2023.

As of the end of the first quarter, Chief Executive Li Xiang owned 23.79 percent of the firm, making him the largest shareholder with 75.74 percent of voting rights. China’s lifestyle services giant Meituan was the second-largest investor with a 13.23 percent stake and 4.21 percent of the voting rights.

In New York yesterday, shares of Li Auto [NASDAQ: LI] closed up 0.9 percent at USD33.68, giving it a market cap of USD30.47 billion.

Editor: Peter Thomas