Conch Profiles and Science Co., a Chinese manufacturer of construction material, plans to acquire a majority stake in Chery Automobile Co.'s electric vehicle subsidiary.

 

The deal will allow the EV business to raise capital from domestic sources.

 

Conch Profiles said it will finance the deal by issuing additional stock on the Shenzhen stock exchange, where it is listed. Conch Profiles, based in Wuhu in east China's Anhui province, didn't disclose other details about the deal.

 

In the past several years, Chery's attempts to go public have been stymied by its inability to generate consistent profits.

 

Last year, the carmaker sold a 60 percent stake in its EV subsidiary for 2.8 billion yuan ($424 million) to two investment companies backed by the Wuhu city government.

 

Chery's EV subsidiary, established in 2010, makes two electric variants of Chery's QQ small car.

 

In the first four months of the year, Chery sold 458,837 vehicles, a dip of 0.4 percent year on year. The results include 14,147 EVs, according to Shanghai-based China Passenger Car Association.

 

Chery also runs joint ventures with Jaguar Land Rover and Kenon Holdings of Singapore.