Source | Source Auto

3.18 billion yuan.

That figure represents just 1% of Changan Automobile's total assets as of the end of the third quarter of 2026.

In Lei Jun's terms, it could also amount to one-third of Xiaomi's R&D investment during its first three years before entering the car-making business.

And it happens to be the reserve price for the transfer of a 10% stake in Avatr.

On November 12, according to information from the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, a 10% stake in Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Avatr) was listed for transfer. The transferor is Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Changan), and the reserve price is approximately 3.18 billion yuan. If the transaction goes through, Changan's shareholding in Avatr will drop from 40.994% to 30.994%.

In addition, according to information from the Tianyancha APP, Avatr's current second-largest shareholder is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, with a shareholding ratio of 9.1742%. In other words, the new shareholder that acquires Changan's 10% stake in Avatr can at most become Avatr's second-largest shareholder.

Admittedly, Avatr's current situation leaves much to be desired.

According to data disclosed alongside the above transaction, Avatr's 2025 operating revenue was approximately 25.87 billion yuan, net profit was approximately -3.49 billion yuan, total assets were approximately 29.36 billion yuan, and total liabilities were approximately 23.57 billion yuan. Considering that Avatr's new car sales in 2026 have declined compared with last year, it is believed that the situation of this luxury new energy vehicle company will not be much better than in 2025.

But to conclude from this that Changan is transferring its Avatr equity because the latter's development has fallen short of expectations would clearly be superficial.

For Changan, cashing out more than 3 billion yuan by transferring a 10% stake in Avatr may keep the company's net profit attributable to parent in 2026 in positive territory, but in reality it cannot silence the questioning voices in the market, and compared with the resources already invested in Avatr and Changan's long-term plans, it is even more insignificant.

In a broader sense, Changan, which was upgraded from a local state-owned enterprise to a central state-owned enterprise just 1 year and 3 months ago, needs Avatr as its premiumization chess piece more than ever.

By contrast, the view that this equity transfer is related to Avatr's Hong Kong IPO is more worthy of consideration.

On June 30 this year, Avatr resubmitted an application for listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The second submission was necessary because the prospectus submitted on November 27, 2025 had been valid for 6 months and had entered an invalid state. According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange rules, the validity period of Avatr's second submitted prospectus and listing application lasts until December 31 this year.

For Avatr and Changan, there should be no worse year-end review than the failure of the second listing submission.

According to Avatr's response to the media on November 12 regarding the equity transfer transaction, the investor intended to be introduced through the transaction will focus on providing assistance in areas such as high-end brand channel construction and overseas market expansion, accelerating the company's march toward becoming a "global new luxury smart electric vehicle leading brand."

"As the brand enters a stage where premiumization and globalization proceed in parallel, its core demand has shifted from funding support to industrial resource synergy that matches its product lineup and overseas layout," Avatr said.

If Avatr can truly introduce an investor that can provide high-quality endorsement for its overseas development, then against the backdrop of going global becoming an industry trend, this can indeed make its business story fuller and more three-dimensional.

In fact, whether judged by objective sales results or subjective market reputation, Avatr has reached a moment when change is needed.

Before this, Avatr's luxury new energy story mainly revolved around Changan, Huawei, and CATL. But in a context where new cars on the market are overflowing with "Huawei content" and the halo of CATL's first launch of new batteries is increasingly difficult to seize, Avatr and Changan should both have realized that to break through, they must rely on themselves.

So we can see the brand flagship Avatr T09 adopting an entirely new design language, and even an Avatr that appears to have been driven into a CATL battery swap station.

It can be expected that Avatr, which has already entered its 2.0 strategy, will present a brand-new look in 2027, and Changan's transfer of a 10% stake in Avatr can actually be interpreted as Changan's determination to make its "beloved son" succeed even at the expense of diluting its own long-term interests.

Previously, Changan's promise to Avatr was "give money if money is needed, give people if people are needed, give technology if technology is needed," and later it was upgraded to "give mechanisms if mechanisms are needed, give ecosystem if ecosystem is needed." Now it can actually be summarized as—"give whatever is needed."

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