Aulton
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Leading third-party battery swap provider in China partnering with multiple automakers for brand-agnostic swap service. Operates 1,000+ swap stations across major Chinese cities with an IPO pending for additional growth capital. Targets commercial fleets and taxis where rapid 60-second swap times create compelling economics versus traditional plug-in charging.
Key Milestones
Apr 2000
Launch
Aulton (Shanghai Dianba) founded by Jin Wang in Shanghai as China's earliest commercial battery-swap research outfit; mission framed around taxis and electric buses long before passenger BEVs scaled, betting that industrial fleets would adopt swap before private cars
Dec 2017
Commercial
First commercial Aulton swap station opens in Beijing serving BAIC EU220/EV200 taxi fleets; pilot proves swap economics work for 24/7 ride-hail vehicles where downtime to recharge would crush utilization
Sep 2021
Milestone
Series A round led by GAC Capital at undisclosed valuation; partnerships announced with SAIC, Dongfeng, FAW, Geely, Changan, BAIC for shared swap stations - Aulton becomes the brand-agnostic alternative to NIO's proprietary system
Dec 2023
Milestone
Crosses 700 multi-brand swap stations across China; supports 7+ OEM standards (BAIC, SAIC, Dongfeng, FAW, Geely, Changan, BJEV) - first cross-OEM agnostic operator at scale
Sep 2024
Milestone
Hits 1,000 swap stations milestone; 60-second swap time for taxis and ride-hail - 521 are Aulton-owned with rest co-operated through SAIC/Dongfeng/Geely partner sites
Nov 2025
Milestone
HKEX IPO prospectus filed Dec 12; targets ~$300M raise to expand swap network and develop next-gen 5-min swap stations - aiming to be HK's first listed pure-play battery-swap stock
Apr 2026
Milestone
521 swap stations directly connected to Aulton's energy-services platform; 267 company-owned, 62 service-managed, 192 third-party-integrated - first swap operator to disclose break-out by ownership model