Geely truck unit, Farizon, raises $600 million in funding round

(Reuters) – China’s Farizon, a maker of electric and hybrid trucks which is owned by automaker Geely, has raised $600 million in a Series-A funding round, the company said in a statement.

The Hangzhou-based company, which produces and markets hybrid and pure electric commercial vehicles, said it plans to use the funds for further technology and product development, as well as expansion outside of China.

It said the company’s latest round of fundraising was led by Boyu Capital and Yuexiu Industrial Fund, with participation from other investors such as Singapore-based United Clean Energy and Linjiang Industry Group. It comes on the heels of Farizon’s Pre-A round financing in October 2022, in which it raised over $300 million.

Outside of China, Farizon said the company is moving to establish a presence in markets including as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, South America and Europe.

The company has said a key focus outside of China will be Europe, where it plans to start selling a light electric cargo van called the Super Van as early as 2024. It will compete against the likes of Ford Motor (NYSE:)’s e-Transit van, the company has said.

It aims to become one of Europe’s top three electric cargo van suppliers with the Super Van.

Farizon, which started selling vehicles in 2016, sold roughly 37,800 light commercial vehicles in China in 2022, according to consultancy LMC Automotive. During the January-May period this year, it sold 24,760 vehicles.

This year, Farizon said it expects sales in China and abroad to reach 150,000 vehicles.

Currently, a majority of its overall sales volume comes from China.