Author: Chai Xucheng

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

As a rising star in China's automobile manufacturing industry, the high-end brand of new energy vehicles, SaiLisi, is about to step onto a new stage of capital market.

On November 5th, Thalys officially went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a final price set at the highest offering price of HK$131.5 per share. The company raised about HK$14 billion in total, becoming the largest IPO for a Chinese car co

Such a luxurious start is due to Wenjie's gain in the high-end market. The explosion of the flagship M9/M8 cut off BBA's core profit cake in one fell swoop, and sales soared all the way. In just two years, it became the top of the new force and becam

In the new energy field and capital market, Thalys's thrilling turn-around story cannot be separated from Huawei's support. In the view of many insiders, this has become the core selling point of Thalys's more than 200 billion yuan valuation. Its lis

After being helped onto the horse by Huawei, Thalys cannot expect to be helped further. This listing on Hong Kong stocks is an opportunity for it to raise funds and seek revaluation.

According to its prospectus, Thalys plans to invest 70% of its IPO funding in research and development. This is seen externally as an important signal that Thalys is strengthening its autonomous capabilities in key technological areas and reducing it

From this moment on, Thalys aims to go into battle with complete independence. Chairman Zhang Xinghai, who has once again placed his chips, intends to continue the gamble and seize the high ground in the new industrial revolution, reversing the fate

Capital's Favorite

Nine years ago, Zhang Xinghai may not have expected that with the initial share price of just 5.81 yuan, he would be able to raise merely 700 million yuan in the A-share market for his automobile company. Little did he know that nine years later, his

On November 5th, the sound of the gong at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange echoed through the trading hall as domestic new force luxury car brand Xpeng Salesforce walked the red carpet to officially land on the Hong Kong stock market. This is the largest

This time, Thalys is confident. Although it declares that the offering price is discounted compared to the A-share price, the market's subscription enthusiasm during the offering period, which is more than a hundred times, pushes Thalys to finally ch

Some investors believe that the issuance price of HK$131.5 is relatively high, which may bring certain pressure to the stock price of Thalys. Some institutions also point out that Thalys has huge potential as a leader in the new energy vehicle field,

During this IPO, Thalys attracted 22 cornerstone investors with a total subscription of about HK$6.42 billion, including Chongqing Industrial Mother Fund, Lin Yuan Fund, Huatai Capital, Guangfa Fund, Sanhua Smart Control, Yunfeng Fund, Mirae Securiti

In the eyes of some securities professionals, the core value of Thalys' listing on Hong Kong stock exchange lies in its partnership with Huawei for the Aito project, which is seen as a key factor in attracting international capital. In other words, i

However, it is also an indisputable fact that Celis has achieved popularity this year. Under the current cruel industry competition, Celis's performance has shown a situation in which sales have slowed down and profits have increased instead of falli

Zheshen Securities pointed out that the profit improvement of Thalys mainly benefits from the growth of high-end models. The sales of two high-end models, M9 and M8, accounted for 65.5% of the total sales in the first three quarters, while the figure

As of late October, the cumulative delivery volume of the AITO M9 series officially exceeded 250,000 units, setting a new record for luxury vehicles in the RMB 500,000 price segment in China. It has been ranked first in sales of luxury vehicles price

The high-margin flagship products have become extremely popular, breaking down the key barriers of BBA and solidifying their position in the luxury car market. As a result, the fortunes of Thalys have also risen, with its fate deeply tied to Huawei.

On its first day of listing, the market value of Thalys stood at HK$220 billion, surpassing companies like We Xiaoli, Great Wall Motor, Geely, and Chery. In the Hong Kong stock market's automotive sector, it only ranked behind BYD Auto.

Prepare for the Unexpected

Zhang Xinghai has been involved in business for nearly 40 years and has dealt with numerous capitalists. He knows well that capitalists love to lend a hand when things are going well but are quick to retract when things turn sour.

From a timing perspective, the arrival of Thalys in Hong Kong is at a critical juncture when the outbreak of Askona brings about a turnaround in profits. Currently, high gross profits and improved profitability provide important support for Thalys' l

On the surface, Thalys, backed by Huawei, has become a cash cow. After suffering cumulative losses of nearly 10 billion yuan for four consecutive years, the M9, which knocked BBA off its perch, helped Thalys turn a profit last year, achieving a net p

Miracles have costs.

According to the prospectus, the purchasing amount of Thalys to its largest supplier, Supplier A (Huawei), has been increasing year by year. From 2022 to 2024, Thalys's purchases from Supplier A increased from 5.8 billion yuan to 42 billion yuan, acc

Under the new situation of the convergence of the Five Worlds, Thalys has further bound with Huawei to obtain more reliable guarantees in technology, decision-making, supply chain, and other aspects. Thalys has also invested 11.5 billion yuan to acqu

On the other hand, since 2022, SAIC's sales expenses have been more than three times its research and development expenses, far higher than those of BYD (0.45), Geely (1.27), Xiaomi (1.05), and Lingpai (0.74). In the first three quarters of this year

This means that Thalys needs more funds to support the high-speed operation of Wenjie. Industry insiders pointed out that although Thalys currently has abundant cash on the books, its structured deposits and restricted funds account for a relatively

In addition to financial pressure, in the long run, Thalys also wants to rebuild its relationship with Huawei and become more independent to a greater extent.

Previously, Thalys was the only child of Huawei's intelligent vehicle selection program, enjoying all the technological, brand, and channel support from Huawei, which was the starting point of the miracle of AITO. However, with the addition of other

Although currently Thalys is still dependent on Huawei, it wants to step out of the shadow of its 'big brother' as soon as possible, and Zhang Xinghai has been planning this for a long time.

The listing of Thalys on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has been rapidly advancing since its launch in April this year. From submitting its listing application to receiving the overseas listing registration notice from the China Securities Regulatory C

In addition to financing for the secondary listing in Hong Kong, Celis 'other major purpose is to use the new capital market stage to prove to everyone that it is not just a car company, but also a technology company.

A new narrative

The prospectus shows that Thalys plans to use 70% of the net proceeds for research and development; 20% for diversified new marketing channels, overseas sales, and charging network services to enhance global brand awareness; and 10% as working capita

For Thalys, being listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange not only provides another financing channel, but also helps to expand its overseas market and adds another dimension to its independence.

The prospectus clearly states that the company needs to establish a more open valuation system through Hong Kong stocks to support its globalization strategy and further reduce reliance on the domestic credit system and A-share financing channels. Th

But to truly achieve independence, Thalys needs to develop its own core capabilities.

Specifically, research and development investment will focus on three areas: upgrading the Magic Cube platform architecture, increasing investment in intelligent driving algorithms and Hongmeng OS cabin systems, and developing the next generation of

In terms of research and development expenditure, Thalys has invested nearly 5.2 billion in the first half of the year. Zhang Xinghai also stated that 5 billion yuan will be invested this year to build its own research and development center. His pla

In October this year, Celis announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary signed the "Specific Intelligent Business Cooperation Framework Agreement" with the Volcano Engine of ByteDance to lay out an intelligent robot track. This is because Zhang Xingha

At NVIDIA's annual shareholder meeting in June, Huang Renxun emphasized that AI and robotics technology are the two biggest growth opportunities, representing growth opportunities at the scale of hundreds of billions of dollars. Morgan Stanley predic

Industry insiders believe that automotive companies have a head start in the manufacturing and application of humanoid robots. Car companies such as Xiaopeng and Changan have followed this trend by developing their own humanoid robots. Musk sees his

It is obvious that Thalys also intends to extend its business to the robotics industry through its in-car AI, attempting to replicate Tesla's ecological transition from cars to humanoid robots. Such cross-border expansion could potentially open up a

Some sellers believe that the compound annual growth rate of net profit for automotive parts will only be 12% by 2025, while the compound growth rate of robot shipments will be 60% from 2025 to 2027. With cost reduction of 10% in vehicle specificatio

CITIC Securities even bluntly said that Celis is expected to become the Tesla in China. Southwest Securities pointed out that based on the paradigm of Tesla's 2022 robot launch conference market sales jumping 50%, Celis's valuation is expected to con

It can be said that Celis took the initiative to seek change at the moment of its most glorious performance, using a grand narrative about the future to hedge potential growth bottlenecks and identity anxieties in reality. This is another big gamble

This time, he aims to make the market reassess Thalys' long-term value. This rising star is no longer just a Huawei concept stock, but a tech enterprise with real potential to lead future industrial changes.

If Thalys can successfully break out, it will also pave the way for Chinese car companies to transform from technology dependence to ecosystem leadership. This road is bound to be full of thorns, but it is also full of infinite possibilities.