Led · Series D · Oct 2021

WM Motor designs and manufactures mainstream smart electric vehicles and operates two fully self-owned, highly automated factories to integrate R&D and production. The company has delivered over 80,000 vehicles to date and reported total vehicle deliveries of 34,068 units from January to October 2021. Its product line includes the W6—claimed as the world’s first mass-produced vehicle with L4 autonomous driving and Automated Valet Parking—and the M7 sedan, with mass production and delivery of the M7 expected to commence in 2022. WM Motor plans to use new funding to accelerate development of autonomous driving and other smart technologies, expand sales and service channels nationwide, and ramp production and deliveries. Management said the business showed resilience amid the global chip shortage and expects to boost sales next year with investor and partner support. WM Motor is a dominant player in China’s mainstream electric vehicle market, producing smart EVs that emphasize advanced smart cockpits and an integrated electric powertrain system. Its lineup includes the W6 SUV, launched in April 2021, which the company says is the first smart BEV equipped with L4 Automated Valet Parking (AVP); a new sedan was scheduled for launch in mid-October 2021. WM Motor operates two fully self-owned, highly automated factories and integrates in-house R&D and manufacturing to support vehicle safety and reliability. The company has delivered over 70,000 vehicles cumulatively and sold 29,043 vehicles from January to September 2021, exceeding its full-year 2020 sales. Despite industry chip shortages, WM Motor secured its supply chain, continued deliveries, and reported a positive cash gross profit. The company is focused on expanding sales and service channels and further developing autonomous driving and other smart technologies to enhance the user experience. WM Motor is a Shanghai-based electric-vehicle startup founded in 2015 that builds and sells the EX5 electric SUV. The company has delivered more than 41,000 EX5 units to date. WM Motor secured an 11.5 billion yuan (≈$1.8 billion) line of credit from local banks to support its near-term growth. The funding includes a first tranche of 3.5 billion yuan and comes from 11 lenders. WM Motor said it will use the funds to invest in product innovation, technology development, intelligent manufacturing, channel expansion and digital marketing. The company is moving closer to a planned public listing on Shanghai’s Star board. WM Motor is a Shanghai-based company that develops electric vehicles. On Tuesday it announced the completion of a Series D financing round. The round totalled ¥10 billion (about $1.47 billion). The deal is described as the largest financing to date for a Chinese electric-vehicles developer. The article does not provide details on investors, operating metrics, or future plans. WM Motor is a Chinese electric-vehicle maker that began selling the EX5 electric SUV in China in spring 2018. The EX5 is offered with three battery variants for ranges of about 300, 400, or 460 kilometres and is powered by a motor rated at 160 kW and 315 Nm torque. The company says it plans to launch about one electric vehicle per year under the Weltmeister/WeiMa label and will upgrade its technology, products, new retail modes and intelligent manufacturing in 2019. WM Motor has a cooperation with BorgWarner providing electric drive technologies including the eDM module that drives the EX5. Founder, chairman and CEO Freeman Shen is cited discussing the firm’s product and technology plans. Financially, the company has raised capital for manufacture and R&D and is directing fresh funds primarily into research and development and intelligent-vehicle efforts with partners.