China-based electric vehicle developer Xiaopeng Motors has raised RMB2.2bn ($324m) in a series B round led by on-demand chauffeured travel platform UCar, South China Morning Post reported yesterday.
Founded in 2014, Xiaopeng is working on an all-electric sports utility vehicle called Xpeng that will be capable of being mass produced relatively quickly, and is looking to begin commercial manufacturing of the vehicle later this year.
UCar made the investment through a newly formed RMB10bn ($1.47bn) strategic investment fund that chairman and CEO Lu Zhengyao revealed would cover the entirety of the automotive value chain.
Zhengyao said: “We are already the single largest vehicle buyer in the country and we have a strong sales network and rich service offerings for people to ride in cars.”
Although its competitors include the hugely successful ride hailing company Didi Chuxing, UCar operates through a different model, largely utilising its own in-house fleet of cars, and an investment in Xiaopeng could herald a new source for its vehicles.
In addition to supplying funding for Xiaopeng, UCar will buy vehicles directly from the carmaker, help it scale manufacturing, provide access to its own big-data marketing technology and assist it in establishing a sales and after-sales network.
The series B round comes after Xiaopeng received $40m in a March 2016 series A round funded by undisclosed participants, according to China Money Network.
The company had already raised an undisclosed amount in an angel round featuring Li Xueling, Fu Sheng, Wu Xiaoguang and Zhang Yin, all notable figures in China’s technology and venture capital space.
– Photo courtesy of Xiaopeng Motors