WM Motor Holdings raises more than $300 million

Baidu and Tencent-backed electric-vehicle maker WM Motor Holdings has raised over $300 million in new funding as investors continue to show interest in the company.

Two Hong Kong-listed companies led WM Motor’s latest Series D1 funding round, including PCCW — backed by a son of local tycoon Li Ka-shing — and shipping and property company Shun Tak Holdings.

WM Motor has been affected by setbacks, including a stalled STAR Market listing and a vehicle recall concerning battery-related fire hazards.

“We are extremely honored to have been invested in by such renowned international investors, especially during this period of industry consolidation and rapid growth coupled with intensified competition,” said Freeman H. Shen, WM Motor founder, and CEO, on Tuesday.

The funding will be used for developing autonomous driving and other smart technologies.

The EV startup is seeking yet more funding and said it expects to get extra $200 million from as yet unnamed “prestigious international investors” in a D2 round.

Despite the continuing fundraising, the company is yet to turn a profit. In the first nine months of 2020, it reported a net loss of more than 3.6 billion yuan ($565 million), more than double the loss it reported in 2017, its exchange filing show.

“We sold 29,043 cars in the first month of 2021, which already surpassed the sales volume for the whole of 2020,” WM Motor CFO John Bi said.