Business: |
We are an electric vehicle (EV) battery-swapping technology company. (Holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands)
We are a vehicle sourcing service provider in China, with a vision to becoming an EV market player primarily focused on our proprietary battery-swapping technology, or UOTTA technology, which is an intelligent modular battery-swapping technology designed to provide a comprehensive battery power solution for EVs.
Since our commencement of operations in 2013, we have principally engaged in the provision of vehicle sourcing services. We broker sales of vehicles between automobile wholesalers and buyers, including small and medium sized vehicle dealers (“SME dealers”) and individual customers primarily located in the lower-tier cities in China, which are smaller and less developed than the tier-1 or tier-2 cities. To that end, we have focused on building business relationships with our sourcing partners and have developed a vehicle sourcing network. As of the date of this prospectus, our vehicle sourcing network consisted of approximately 100 wholesalers and 30 SME dealers located in lower-tier cities in China.
Beginning in 2020, we gradually shifted our focus from the vehicle sourcing business to the development of our proprietary battery-swapping technology, or UOTTA technology. According to Frost & Sullivan, the PRC government will focus on promoting the electrification of commercial vehicles in the next few years, and it is expected that the sales volume of electric commercial vehicles will grow from 164.7 thousand units in 2021 to 431.0 thousand units in 2026 at a CAGR of 21.2% in China, and with the increasing penetration rates of electric commercial vehicles and the expanding battery-swapping infrastructure network, the market size by revenue of battery swapping solutions for electric commercial vehicle is expected to increase from approximately RMB8,661.5 million in 2021 to RMB176,615.1 million in 2026, representing a CAGR of 82.8%. In order to capture the opportunities arising from such growth, our plan is to develop a comprehensive EV battery power solution based on UOTTA technology, which mainly consists of: (i) vehicle-mounted supervisory control units that monitor the real-time status of an EV’s battery packs; (ii) customized vehicle control units (“VCUs”), which upload real-time data of the electric vehicle, such as its battery status, real-time location and safety status, to our data platform, using Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi technologies; and (iii) our data management platform, which collects and synchronizes real-time information of the EVs uploaded by their respective VCUs, as well as information on the availability and locations of compatible UOTTA battery-swapping stations that assist drivers in locating the nearest compatible UOTTA battery-swapping station(s) available when the EV’s battery is determined to be lower than a certain level; and (iv) UOTTA battery-swapping stations designed for precise positioning, rapid disassembly, compact integration and flexible deployment of battery swapping for compatible EVs.
We have established in-house capabilities in the innovation of EV battery-swapping technology. Through our research and development efforts, we are developing an intellectual property portfolio. As of the date of this prospectus, we had 14 issued patents and 24 pending patent applications in China. Our research and development team is committed to technology innovation. As of the date of the prospectus, our research and development team consisted of 34 personnel and is led by Mr. Rui Wang and Mr. Zhanduo Hao, each of whom has experience of over 20 years in the electric power sector.
In 2021, leveraging years of automobile industry experience, we started cooperating with major automobile manufacturers to jointly develop UOTTA-powered EVs, by adapting selected EV models with our UOTTA technology. According to Frost & Sullivan, compared with passenger EV drivers, drivers of commercial-use EVs experience more range anxiety and are more motivated to shorten, or even eliminate, time spent on recharging EVs, therefore, we intend to primarily focus on developing commercial-use UOTTA-powered EVs, such as ride-hailing passenger EVs, small logistics EVs, light electric trucks, and heavy electric trucks, and their compatible UOTTA battery-swapping stations. As of the date of this prospectus, we have entered into cooperating agreements with two major Chinese automobile manufacturers, FAW Jiefang Qingdao Automotive Co., Ltd, and HUBEI TRI-RING Motor Co., Ltd, to jointly develop UOTTA-powered electric trucks. We also have engaged with two battery-swapping station manufacturers to jointly develop and manufacture UOTTA battery-swapping stations that are compatible with UOTTA-powered EVs. Our UOTTA battery-swapping stations are designed for precise positioning, rapid disassembly, compact integration and flexible deployment, allowing battery replacement within several minutes. As of the date of this prospectus, we realized sales of five battery-swapping stations. In August 2021, we completed the construction of our own battery-swapping station factory in Zibo City, Shandong Province (the “Zibo Factory”), which commenced manufacturing UOTTA battery-swapping stations in January 2022. We are also in the process of constructing another factory in Wuhu city, Anhui province (the “Wuhu Factory”), which is expected to commence production in 2023. In order to provide a comprehensive battery power solution based on UOTTA technology, we are in the process of developing a data management platform that connects UOTTA-powered EVs and stations, and assists the UOTTA-powered EV drivers in locating the closest compatible UOTTA swapping-stations on their routes. In January 2022, we started operating a battery-swapping station, pursuant to our station cooperation agreement with Quanzhou Xinao Transportation Energy Development Co., Ltd (“Quanzhou Xinao”), a local gas station operator in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. Although we have made significant progress in entering into the EV market, there is no assurance that we will be able to execute our business plan to expand into the EV market as we have planned.
**Note: U Power Ltd. reported a net loss of $6.84 million on revenue of $1.75 million for the 12 months that ended June 30, 2022.
(Note: U Power Ltd. priced its micro-cap IPO at $6.00 – the low end of its $6.00-to-$8.00 range – on 2.42 million shares (2,416,667 shares) – down from 2.5 million shares in the prospectus – to raise $14.5 million (vs. estimated IPO proceeds of $17.5 million). The Shanghai-based company announced the pricing details on Thursday, April 20, 2023, before the U.S. stock market’s open. The word on the Street was that the IPO was priced on the night of April 18, 2023, along these same terms. The stock is expected to start trading Thursday, April 20, 2023, on NASDAQ. **Background: U Power Ltd. disclosed that WestPark Capital is the sole book-runner – and AMTD is no longer a joint book-runner teamed with WestPark Capital – according to an F-1/A filing dated March 27, 2023. U Power Ltd. disclosed terms for its IPO on March 8, 2023, in an F-1/A filing: 2.5 million shares at $6.00 to $8.00 to raise $17.5 million. U Power filed its F-1 on Dec. 22, 2022, and updated the filing with an F-1/A on Feb. 14, 2023 – without disclosing IPO terms.)
|