WM Motor, a Shanghai electric vehicle startup, secured an 11.5 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) credit line from a consortium of 11 domestic commercial banks.
The consortium has signed off on the first loan of 3.5 billion yuan, which will be mainly used to fund product development and manufacturing, an expanded distribution network and digital marketing, WM Motor said.
The group of lenders, led by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, is comprised of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchant Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Huaxia Bank, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Industrial Bank and Tai Fung Bank.
WM Motor was founded by Freeman Shen, Volvo Car Corp.’s former China president, in 2015. The company has launched sales of two products – the EX5 and EX6 compact crossovers. A third product, the W6, is set to arrive in the second quarter.
In 2020, WM Motor deliveries surged 33 percent to 22,495. It was the fourth-largest EV startup, ranked by sales, in China last year, following Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto.