delivered 11,009 vehicles in January, the third consecutive month over 10,000. All three of the brand's models currently start at less than 100,000 yuan ($15,700).

(Image credit: Neta)

Hozon New Energy Automobile, which owns the Neta brand, has officially launched plans to list in Hong Kong with sponsors CITIC Securities, CICC, Morgan Stanley and UBS, local media Cailian reported today.

Hozon had no comment, the report said.

Hozon was founded in October 2014 and owns Neta. The first Neta model was launched in November 2018.

Neta currently offers three models in China, the Neta V, Neta V Pro and Neta U Pro, all starting at under RMB 100,000 ($15,700).

Neta delivered 11,009 vehicles in January, up 401.6 percent year-on-year and up 8.7 percent from December, according to data released by the company on February 1.

It was the third consecutive month in which the company delivered more than 10,000 vehicles in a single month, after it delivered 10,013 vehicles in November and 10,127 in December.

At the end of October last year, Neta announced the completion of an RMB 4 billion Series D1 financing round led by Qihoo 360, China's largest cybersecurity company, which raised RMB 2 billion.

Qihoo 360 participated in two consecutive rounds of financing for Neta, investing a cumulative RMB 2.9 billion, Neta said at the time, adding that its next round of financing had been initiated and would close soon.

Late last month, Bloomberg reported that Hozon was seeking to raise about $500 million ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO this year, valuing the company at RMB 450 ($7.1 billion).

The company had previously considered a Nasdaq-style STAR board listing in Shanghai, but then Chinese regulators stepped up scrutiny of potential post-IPO options for high-tech components, causing a large number of companies to abandon the plan, the report said.

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