Chery's Huawei-backed Luxeed to gain independent carmaking license, plans standalone IPO

• Luxeed is set to obtain its own production license, and an insider said the Chery unit plans to go public independently in the future.
• The badge on its vehicles is expected to change from Chery to Luxeed.

Luxeed, the EV brand jointly created by Huawei and Chery (HKEX: 9973), is about to obtain an independent carmaking license, and a Luxeed insider confirmed to Yicai on Saturday that the brand plans a standalone listing in the future.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Friday published batch 412 of its announcement of motor vehicle manufacturers and products, listing Luxeed among the proposed new vehicle manufacturers. The public comment period runs through October 23.

According to the notice, Luxeed's production address is No. 8 Wanjiang Avenue, Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone, Anhui province, with the remark "member company of Chery Group."

In the same attachment, Chery applied to deregister this production address. This means Luxeed's license is not a new addition; rather, Chery is transferring the existing plant's capacity and its status as a production entity to Luxeed.

"It is Chery's plant that was given to Luxeed," Yicai quoted the insider as saying, adding that Luxeed will obtain its independent license once the public comment period ends and approval is granted.

In the same batch, Voyah, a unit of Dongfeng Motor Group, made a similar move. Voyah's newly approved production addresses include No. 8 Yunfeng Avenue, Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, while Dongfeng Motor deregistered the same plant address at the same time.

Once Luxeed's license is approved, the badge on new vehicles is expected to change from the current "Chery" to "Luxeed," similar to how Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) switched its badge from Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC) to Nio after obtaining its own production license.

Luxeed was jointly created by Chery and Huawei. Its first model, the S7, launched in November 2023, followed by the R7 in September 2024. Its current lineup also includes the V9 MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) and the RX all-electric coupe SUV, which launched on September 28.

In 2024, Chery upgraded the Luxeed division into an independent business unit with separate accounting and autonomous operations, responsible for the entire process of research and development, production, and sales.

On January 23, 2025, Anhui Luxeed New Energy Vehicle Co Ltd was established in Wuhu with registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($149 million), with Chery as its sole shareholder.

On August 7, 2025, Chery and Huawei signed the Luxeed brand strategy 2.0 cooperation agreement in Shenzhen. Under the plan disclosed at the time, the two sides would invest more than 10 billion yuan in R&D at Luxeed, expand the R&D team to 5,000 people, and push for integrated, independent operations across R&D, production, sales, and service.

Luxeed's management team has undergone major changes this year. In January, Zhao Changjiang, formerly general manager of BYD's Denza sales division, joined Luxeed as executive director and executive vice president.

In April, Guo Rui, formerly CMO of Huawei's consumer business for Greater China and global CMO of smartphone brand Honor, became Luxeed's chairman and CEO, with former chairman Yu Jiufeng stepping down.

At the end of June, Luxeed completed its business registration changes, with Chery's stake decreasing from 100% to 85%, while two equity investment partnerships in Wuhu each hold 7.5%. After tracing the ownership structure, Guo indirectly holds about 6%, and Zhao holds about 4.5%.

Luxeed sold 90,493 vehicles in 2025, up 56% year-on-year. In the first 9 months of 2026, cumulative sales were 43,623 units, down 24.50% year-on-year.