Sep 22, 2020 08:42 PM

New-Energy Vehicle Maker Raises $1.47 Billion Ahead of Rumored IPO

What’s new: Baidu-backed new energy vehicle (NEV) maker WM Motor Technology Co. Ltd. has secured an outsize 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) in its Series D funding round, the company said Tuesday.

The round, thought to be the biggest ever for a Chinese electric car firm, was led by state-owned SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. — representing the traditional carmaker’s first investment in an NEV startup — and included a hodgepodge of state-backed funds.

What’s the background: WM Motor, which owns the Weltmeister brand, is looking to list on Shanghai’s STAR Market this year, Bloomberg reported in July.

That would buck the recent trend set by domestic rivals rushing to Wall Street.

WM Motor has now raised 33 billion yuan from seven rounds of investment, outstripping domestic peers Xpeng, which raised less than 20 billion yuan before listing on the New York Stock Exchange in July, and Li Auto, which raised 15 billion yuan before its Nasdaq debut in August.

For China’s electric car startups, the competition has slowly transformed from one focusing on pure production capacity to profitability.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Contact editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)