Japan-based electric vehicle maker Terra Motors has received $10m in a round of investment led by venture capital firm Fenox Venture Capital, with participation from Mihuzo Capital, the corporate venturing arm of Mihuzo Bank, itself the retail and corporate banking unit of Mihuzo Financial Group.
Other investors in the round included financial services company Shinsei Bank, securities firm SMBC Aizawa Securities, and SMBC Venture Capital, the venture capital subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Founded in 2010, Terra Motors designs, manufactures and sells electric scooters and three wheelers for the Japanese and Asia Pacific markets.
Terra plans to use the funds to expand into other Asian countries, and to increase manufacturing capacity at its overseas production facilities in Vietnam and the Philippines. The company plans to achieve a sales volume of 100,000 vehicles by 2015.
Toru Tokushige, CEO and founder of Terra Motors, said: “Our short term goal is to take the lead in the Asian market just as Tesla has positioned itself as a leader in the electric automotive industry. In addition, our long term goal is to create a company with rapid growth, beyond the growth of Samsung and Apple.”