WM Motor bags US$ 1.47B in Series D funding

Chinese electric vehicle startup WM Motor bags US$ 1.47B in a Series D funding round held in September 2020, led by the investment arm of the Shanghai government and SAIC Motor. The local governments of Hubei Province and the cities of Suzhou, Hengyang, Hefei and Guangzhou invested through funds controlled by them. Previous investors Baidu, the Chinese search engine corporation, and U.S.-based Susquehanna International Group also participated in the funding round.

The fresh funding, which is said to be the largest amount of funding any electric vehicle has secured to date, is set to help the startup compete against Tesla on its home ground. Backed by Baidu and Tencent, WM Motor is one of the highest funded EV (electric vehicle) startups in China alongside NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto, all of which have completed initial public offerings in the U.S. and have also witnessed their stocks rising due to growing interest of investors in green vehicles.

WM Motors will use the proceeds from the round to hire 3K proficient engineers worldwide in the next 3-5 years to create a network connecting drivers, vehicles and the outside environment. The funds will also be utilized in research and development, branding, marketing and expansion of sales network.

Inside WM Motors

WM Motor is an automotive company that designs, produces, develops, and sells new energy and battery-run vehicles. Freeman Shen, an automotive expert founded WM Motor. He had previously held executive positions at Volvo, Pateo Group, Fiat and Geely in China.

Shen was a board member and group vice president at Geely, China’s major private car-maker, before establishing WM Motor. He supervised Geely’s eminent acquisition of Swedish luxury car-maker Volvo from Ford in 2010. After finalizing the deal, Shen also served as the chairman of Volvo Cars. Prior to WM, he co-founded and headed the position of CEO of Pateo Group, renowned automobile connectivity and telematics company. WM Motor co-founder Lobo Lu and Chief Technology Officer Yan Feng also formerly worked at SAIC before joining the startup.

Shen quoted, “The completion of the funding round reflects the confidence of investors on the prospect of China’s smart new energy vehicle industry”. He further added that many are strategic investors dedicated to the long-term development of his company.

It has two models for sale at present, the first being a compact crossover SUV, named the EX5, and the second one a mid-sized all-electric SUV, the EX6 Plus. It revealed the concept SUV model Evolve in 2019, which is scheduled for manufacturing in 2021.

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