Chinese EV maker WM Motor raises $300m

WM Motor said it expects to raise another $200 million in a second tranche from unspecified global US dollar investors. It follows a RMB10 billion ($1.5 billion) Series D in September 2020 featuring several government investors. The company also secured RMB11.5 billion in debt from domestic banks in February.

The fresh capital will be used to develop autonomous driving features and other intelligent technologies, as well as for product development, sales and service channel expansion.

Founded in 2015, WM has built two fully owned and highly automated factories. This is different from other independent EV players in China, which typically outsource manufacturing in the early stages.

WM is recognized as a low-end player in China's independent EV space, focusing on commercial vehicles. However, the company embarked on a rebrand earlier last year, hiring the likes of singer Jam Hsiao as a spokesperson. It claims that sales to individuals born after 1995 increased 43.4% year-on-year in the first six months of 2020. Families accounted for 69% of overall sales.

In January, WM's W6 model became the first domestic car capable of unmanned driving in specific scenarios to enter mass production. It is supposed to be capable of unmanned parking, a function developed in collaboration with Baidu. Sales began in March and amounted to 3,000 units as of August.

WM sold 5,005 vehicles in September, an increase of 115% year-on-year. From January to September, cumulative sales came to 29,043 units, exceeding the total for last year, which was 22,495. Cumulative sales for the WM EX5 model have exceeded 60,000.

Following a difficult 2019, China’s EV industry saw two IPOs in 2020: Li Auto raised $1.1 billion through a NASDAQ offering and then Xpeng tapped the New York Stock Exchange for $1.5 billion. With Nio listing in 2018, WM is the last of China's best-funded EV start-ups in private hands.

WM is preparing an IPO in Shanghai Star Market.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
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• automobiles