China's battery and car maker BYD Co. Monday won government approval for its A-share listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which aims to raise 2.2 billion yuan (US$338 million) for expansion.

Under its mainland listing plan, approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission yesterday, BYD intends to issue up to 79 million shares, or 3.4 percent of its enlarged capital, on the Shenzhen bourse, China's smaller market.

The Shenzhen-based car maker said the proceeds will be part of a 5.3 billion yuan investment which will be used to develop an auto research and development center in Shenzhen, car and auto parts making as well as lifting production capacity of lithium-ion batteries.

BYD didn't specify when the mainland offering will be launched but China's regulations specify that the listing must be launched within six months after approval.

The company, which is also listed in Hong Kong, last year delayed its plan to return to the A-share on the Chinese mainland as it hoped the market environment would improve. But the Chinese auto market slowed this year after growing explosively over the past two years. BYD has also been losing momentum as competition in the lower-end car market intensified and government's incentives on fuel-efficient small car expired.

"It's not an easy job to transform from a battery producer to auto maker as BYD's car manufacturing ability remained questionable," said Lin Huaibin, an automotive analyst at IHS Global Insight in Shanghai. "It still needs huge investment to improve its R&D capability in the future."

Last year, BYD's sales rose 16 percent to over 520,000 units, a slower pace compared to a 170 percent surge in 2009. The figure also fell short of earlier estimations of 600,000 units. BYD's overall profit dropped 33 percent to 2.5 billion yuan.

BYD's sales in April fell 12 percent to 40,100 units, following an annual 41 percent slump in March.