China-based electric vehicle (EV) developer WM Motor has raised an undisclosed amount from internet group Tencent and Wukuang Capital, a subsidiary of metals trader China Minmetals, China Money Network has reported.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China and China Structural Reform Fund, the $750m fund set up by Chinese state-owned enterprises in August this year, also participated in the round. Tencent and Sequoia China are also investors in another domestic EV developer, Nio.
Internet company Baidu, technology and trading firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and VC firm Amiba Capital were set to invest in the company as part of a ten-figure renminbi round (RMB1bn = $153m), according to a Reuters report earlier this month.
Founded in late 2015 by Freeman Shen, formerly chairman of automotive manufacturer Volvo, WM is developing a range of EVs that will feature a connected electronics and entertainment system.
WM revealed its first production model, a sports utility vehicle called the EX5, earlier this month, and plans to begin taking orders for the car in April 2018, with deliveries slated for the second half of the year.
The company had previously raised about $1.8bn of funding from Baidu and Baidu Capital, SIG, Amiba, Chengwei Capital, Envision and Seven Seas Partners, $1bn of which came in an August 2016 round backed by undisclosed investors.
– Photo courtesy of Weltmeister Motor.