GSR United leads $40m round for China's Chezhubang

Other participants include Shenzhen-based Zhonghai Capital, Qingdao Global Wealth Center Development & Construction and Pusu Capital, which also participated in the Series A round.

The company raised RMB5 million in angel funding from Asia Capital Link Equity in 2016. This was followed by a two-tranche Series A round in 2018. The first tranche of RMB160 million featured Joincap Holdings Group, Lanyan Capital, Pusu and Tamarace Capital. The second was led by Shenzhen Zhongshunyi Financial Services, with participation from Lanyan, according to AVCJ Research.

The Chezhubang app is connected to more than 10,000 gas stations and 270,000 EV charging stations. The company wants to become a “super connector” in China’s energy industry, bringing together drivers and energy suppliers including refineries, gas stations, and EV charging points.

For gas stations, Chezhubang aggregates demand to secure better prices from the likes of Sinochem Oil, Shell China, Total, and Zhongtu Energy. The company claims to help commercial car owners, its main customer group, reduce fuel costs by 5%. For EV charging, the platform lists stations under different brands, allowing vehicle owners to search more efficiently. It claims to have served more than 300 million users so far.

China is the largest energy consumption market in the world with over 322 million vehicles, of which 235 million are passenger cars. Numerous start-ups have created online energy services platforms with a view to tapping rising demand. These range from Xiaoju Automobile Solutions, a unit of ride-hailing company Didi that provides refueling and leasing services for Didi users, to 51Zhaoyou, which facilitates petroleum-based fuel trading between suppliers and buyers.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Industrials
• Technology
• China
• TMT
• automobiles
• energy
• GSR United Capital
• Pusu Capital