Farizon Auto gets $600 million to grow its business
Geely’s commercial vehicle subsidiary Farizon Auto has raised 600 million dollars in funding to further invest in research and development, as well as its global expansion.
The company completed its Series-A funding round, which was led by Boyu Capital and Yuexiu Industrial Fund. According to Geely, the 600 million dollars now committed is the “largest ever single-round of financing in China’s new energy commercial vehicle sector.”
The other Series A investors are also mostly, but not exclusively, from China: Linjiang Industry Group is based in Sichuan, but the investor United Clean Energy is from Singapore. Existing investors Hidden Hill Capital and Industry Foundation of Xiangtan from China have also participated in the Series A. However, the announcement does not disclose the exact breakdown of investors.
Farizon says it will use the fresh capital for further research and development activities, its ecosystem, and global expansion. Last year, Farizon announced that it is looking to expand into right-hand drive markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions in 2023. But the manufacturer has not named any specifics so far.
In May 2023, Farizon celebrated the production of its 150,000th new energy commercial vehicle and aims to crack the one million mark within the next five years. The vehicles are electrified commercial vehicles of various weight classes, from vans to trucks and buses. Farizon does not give a breakdown of monthly sales but says it has led the way in new-energy commercial vehicles for 14 consecutive months and surpassed “the combined volume of the second and third-ranked competitors in the industry.”
The company raised more than 300 million dollars in its first external funding round in October. Shortly after, it presented its first electric vans platform, SuperVAN. The first EV based on the latter will hit the road next year. And Farizon already secured a first order from the United Arab Emirates late last year.
The EV maker first made headlines in November 2021 when it presented its futuristic Hometruck. Technical data were not mentioned at the time. The BEV version will have a battery swap option; alternatively, it can be built with a methanol fuel cell to generate electricity. It, too, is set to launch in 2024.
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