China-based electric car manufacturer WM Motor Technology is set to receive an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including Baidu Capital, the corporate venturing unit for internet company Baidu, Reuters reported today.
Baidu itself will also invest directly, as will trading firm Susquehanna International Group and venture capital firm Amiba Capital.
The round’s size has not yet been revealed but it will be “a sizeable injection” worth “billions of yuan” (RMB1bn = $151m), sources told Reuters.
WM Motor is developing electric vehicles specifically aimed at the Chinese market, avoiding the 25% import charge that overseas competitors such as Tesla are forced to pay. It hopes to release its first model, an all-electric sports utility vehicle, in 2018.
The company has so far raised approximately $1.8bn since it was established in 2014, according to founder and chief executive Freeman Shen, who claimed it will need approximately $3bn in total funding to reach a commercial launch.
WM closed $1bn in series A funding from unnamed backers in August 2016, and it participated in the $350m round disclosed by China-based bicycle sharing platform Hellobike yesterday.