Two Chinese EV sharing platforms in US$730 million push to fuel growth, sources say
Funding initiatives set to be launched amid China’s efforts to expand the domestic market for new energy vehicles
Two electric vehicle-sharing platforms backed by major Chinese carmakers plan to seek external funding totalling almost US$730 million to fuel their growth, people with direct knowledge of the plans said.
The moves come as Beijing continues its push into the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector as part of efforts to cut pollution and boost cutting-edge technology.
Caocao Zhuanche, a chauffeur ride-hailing platform backed by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is aiming raise up to 3 billion yuan (US$437 million) in a new funding round, at a valuation of about US$3 billion, three people said.
EvCard, an electric vehicle rental service under state-owned SAIC Motor Corp, is also considering raising some 2 billion yuan from external investors, according to a person with direct knowledge.
Both platforms claim that they are the first in China to offer such NEV car-sharing services. Caocao currently operates across 25 cities in China with a fleet of around 16,000 Geely-produced new energy vehicles, while EvCard has operations in 62 cities with over 27,000 cars in use, according to their websites.
Caocao could not be reached for comment via its customer service hotline. A Geely spokesman declined to comment.