China’s state-owned carmaker SAIC said on Friday its premium electric vehicle brand IM Motors has raised more than 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion).
Money from IM Motor’s Series B round of equity financing will be used on new smart car models and technologies, the group said.
It added that the amount was among the biggest investments into Chinese EV brands over the past two years, following Abu Dhabi-based CYVN’s combined $3 billion worth of investment in NIO and Stellantis’ $1.6-billion purchase of a 21% stake in Leapmotor.
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IM Motors, which was co-founded by SAIC, Alibaba and Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development in 2020, said the new funding will also be used to support its overseas expansion.
SAIC has said it plans to export IM Motors’ cars to overseas markets including Europe this year.
State-backed investors in IM Motors’ new capital raise included Bank of China’s asset management unit, an investment arm of Agricultural Bank of China, and Shanghai government-backed Lingang Group, IM Motors said in a statement.
IM Motors said Chinese battery giant CATL, autonomous driving startup Momenta, and SAIC-invested battery firm QingTao Energy Development contributed to the new capital raise.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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