(Yicai) Jan. 7 -- Shares of Jifeng Auto Parts jumped after the Chinese maker of vehicle interiors said it secured an order to supply a domestic electric carmaker with auto seats in a deal expected to be worth as much as CNY3.1 billion (USD423 million).

Jifeng [SHA: 603997] closed 4.9 percent elevated at CNY11.48 (USD1.57) a share in Shanghai, after surging by as much as 6.5 percent earlier today.

Its Changzhou unit has received a letter of intent from the unidentified buyer, designating it as the supplier of auto seats for two upcoming EV models, Ningbo-based Jifeng said late yesterday. Jifeng will develop and make seat assembly products for the cars, which are scheduled to start mass production in April and May next year. Both projects have an expected life cycle of three years.

Due to confidentiality, Jifeng did not disclose the client's name, but noted that it is an existing customer. The buyer awarded the order to Jifeng as a result of their previous successful collaborations, it added.

Jifeng, which counts BYD, Xpeng, and Nio as some of its local EV clients, is a leading global supplier of vehicle seats and headrests. The firm has been expanding its portfolio beyond vehicle interiors and commercial vehicle seats into the rapidly growing passenger car seat segment. Its first passenger car seat project began mass production in May 2023.

In the first half of last year, Jifeng delivered 89,000 sets of passenger car seats, generating revenue of CNY897 million (USD122.4 million), eight times more than in the previous year, according to its semi-annual trading report. As of July 31 last year, it had 18 passenger car seat orders in hand, up from nine in late March, while its related client base doubled to eight, per the report.

Editor: Emmi Laine