China-based electric vehicle developer Chehejia has raised RMB1bn ($151m) in a series B round featuring insurance firms China Taiping and Ping An, Iyiou has reported.
Asset management firm China Merchants Wealth also participated in the round, while Hanergy Investment and CICC were advisers.
Founded in 2015, Chehejia is pursuing a business model that involves it developing and manufacturing its own electric cars it then uses as the basis for a vehicle rental and on-demand ride service.
The funding will support an expansion drive as Chehejia looks to increase its production capacity to the point where it will be able to manufacture 1 million cars per year by 2022: 600,000 small cars for urban use and 400,000 sports utility vehicles.
Both models are slated to be launched in 2018, and Chehejia’s long-term plans involve it focusing on a small range of vehicles. They will incorporate a battery swapping system intended to increase charging efficiency.
The company had previously raised $120m in a May 2016 series A round led by a $54m investment by pump and gardening equipment manufacturer Leo Group alongside Source Code Capital, Plum Ventures and a Changzhou Province government fund.