Cyrus officially announced its investment in Yiwang. On the evening of August 25, Cyrus issued a statement. On August 23, 2024, the company’s fifth board held its fifteenth meeting. The board approved Cyrus Automotive, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to purchase 10% of Yiwang’s shares from Huawei Technologies. The transaction totaled 11.5 billion yuan.
On the same day, Seres Automotive signed a conditional equity transfer agreement with Huawei and Yiwang. Seres will acquire a 10% stake in Yiwang from Huawei. They also signed an agreement to join the shareholder agreement for Shenzhen Yiwang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. “This investment in Yiwang marks a new stage in the comprehensive cooperation between Seres and Huawei, shifting to a ‘business + equity’ partnership,” said Zhang Xinghai, Chairman of Seres Group. Seres will support Yiwang in becoming an open platform for automotive intelligence. They aim to achieve an annual production and sales target of one million units within three years, driving Yiwang to supply one million units and achieve mutual benefits.
On the evening of July 28, Seres announced plans for external investment. They aim to negotiate with Yinwang and its shareholders to support Yinwang in becoming a leader in automotive intelligent driving systems and components. They also want to create an open platform for the automotive industry. However, Seres did not disclose the specific investment amount, transaction method, or price. The announcement states that Yinwang was established on January 16, 2024, with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan. It focuses on research, design, production, sales, and services for automotive intelligent systems and components. Its main business areas include intelligent driving solutions, smart cockpits, intelligent vehicle control, intelligent vehicle cloud, and onboard optics. As of the announcement date, Yinwang had not completed its business loading, according to Seres. Reports indicate that Huawei and Yinwang plan to complete substantial loading based on agreed-upon loading plans and principles before the payment for this transaction. After loading, Yinwang will take over Huawei’s core business in intelligent automotive solutions. Huawei intends to transfer assets, personnel, and intellectual property to Yinwang according to the loading plan. Under the transaction agreement, Seres will receive 11.5 billion yuan in transfer payments in three phases, each with specific payment conditions. The transferor will start the loading activities after receiving the first payment. They will transfer technology, assets, and personnel to the target company as specified in the transaction documents. The transfer date will occur when the transferee completes the second payment. From the date of delivery, the transferee enjoys the corresponding shareholder rights according to the company’s articles and shareholder agreement. The announcement shows that after delivery, Seres Automotive can nominate one director to the Yingwang board and one member to the audit committee. Since its establishment, Yingwang has been seen as a new company carrying Huawei’s past capabilities in the automotive business. Yingwang integrates many core technologies from Huawei’s smart car business. Huawei will fully support Yingwang to maintain its lead and serve the automotive industry’s intelligent transformation. Huawei’s executive director, Yu Chengdong, stated that this cooperation marks a deeper and closer partnership between Huawei and Seres. In the future, Huawei and Yingwang will continue to support the Wanjie brand and launch more new products. Notably, Avita Technology announced its investment in Yingwang on August 19. Changan Automobile announced that its joint venture, Avita, purchased 10% of Yingwang’s shares held by Huawei for 11.5 billion yuan. After this transaction, Avita holds a 10% stake in Yingwang. Besides Seres and Avita, Huawei also expressed a willingness to introduce strategic partners for Yingwang. At the signing ceremony for the strategic cooperation agreement between Seres Group and Huawei, Huawei’s rotating chairman, Xu Zhijun, stated that this cooperation is a significant step toward building Yingwang into an open platform for the automotive industry’s intelligent development. Yingwang will continue to open equity to strategic partners and jointly promote the rise and comprehensive development of the automotive industry.