Chinese auto financing site raises $92m Series B round

Wacai, a VC-backed personal finance management app, also participated. Meliche Jinrong said the second tranche of the Series B round would close imminently.

Meili Jinrong was established in 2015 when online peer-to-peer lending platform Yooli spun out its second-hand car financing business. The company subsequently raised a $65 million Series A round from Bertelsmann Asia Investments, Morningside Venture Capital, and SBCVC. JD Finance, the financial subsidiary of Chinese online retailer JD.com, also invested in the company in 2016.

Meili Jinrong now runs an e-commerce site that allows consumers to buy 3C products (computers, communication, and consumer electronics) and pay education costs in installments, while auto financing falls under the Meiliche Jirong brand.

The business provides loans for consumers to buy new and second-hand cars through partnerships with car dealers and financial institutions. At present, its operation covers 330 Chinese cities, and it has issued a total of RMB20 billion ($3 billion) in loans. Meiliche Jinrong plans to use the new funding to scale up its business, expand sales channels, and improve internal risks management, local media reported. 

Lending platforms that provide loans with specific consumption purposes such as travel, agricultural services, and education financing have attracted significant interest from VC investors.

Companies operating in the online auto finance space include Chedai, which received a $52 million Series B round last year, and Yixin, the VC-backed online financing subsidiary of Chinese automobile portal Bitauto Holdings. Yixin raised HK$6.77 billion ($867 million) in a Hong Kong IPO in November.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Financials
• Early-stage
• China
• TMT
• Financial Services
• automobiles
• Venture