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ByteDance-backed Dongchedi said to explore Hong Kong IPO
Beijing Dongchedi Technology Co., known as DCar, was carved out of TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. in 2023 and is exploring an IPO in Hong Kong as early as this year, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The company is hiring banks for a potential share sale, aiming to raise between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion.
Dongchedi raised about US$600 million in 2024 from investors including General Atlantic, Gaorong Ventures, HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, and KKR & Co., valuing the firm close to US$3 billion.
Details such as timing and size of the offering remain uncertain and may change.
Dongchedi and ByteDance did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Launched in 2017, Dongchedi operates as an automotive information and trading platform competing with peers such as Autohome Inc. and Bitauto Holdings Ltd.
🔗 Source: Bloomberg
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Content controversies define Dongchedi’s path to IPO
- Dongchedi’s possible public offering follows years of spending on content, starting when it ran as the automotive channel inside ByteDance’s Toutiao news app 1.
- In 2018, it said it would put CNY 500 million into video programs. That content-led push later sparked public clashes with automakers such as Huawei, Geely, and Great Wall Motor over its vehicle testing methods 21.
- Even with that pushback, engagement rose. Daily active users grew 57% from 2021 to the first half of 2023, hitting 7.32 million and beating the growth rate of rival Bitauto 2.
ByteDance is spinning off units to focus its core and unlock value
- ByteDance, which owns TikTok, separated Dongchedi in 2023. The unit is looking at a Hong Kong IPO as early as this year, part of a wider plan to spin off mature businesses with their own books and outside partners 2.
- Earlier, ByteDance weighed a similar step for its real estate platform, Xingfu Li, in 2021 2.
- Moving assets like Dongchedi into stand-alone units lets ByteDance, which reported $110 billion in 2023 revenue, put more attention on Douyin and TikTok expansions into e-commerce and local services, where it competes with Alibaba and Meituan 2.
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