Chinese electric car maker WM Motor Technology Co Ltd, which still aims to become China's version of Tesla Inc., hopes to see investors add more than $1 billion in its next funding round.
Based in Shanghai, WM Motor launched its first production car, the EX5 five-door SUV, in May 2018 at the Beijing Auto Show. Deliveries of this electric vehicle (EV) began in September of that year. WM will launch its newest model, the EX6 SUV, at the Guangzhou Auto Show on Friday. It has produced more than 20,000 EX5 SUVs since opening production in 2018."Weltmeister" (the German word for "world champion") is the company's EV brand.
WM Motor is expected to release its next pure electric SUV, the EX6, at the 2019 Guangzhou Auto Show from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1. This SUV will be followed by a new 7-Series sedan to be revealed at Auto China in April 2020.
WM Motor completed its series-C funding round in the first quarter of this year. Among WM Motor's investors are Chinese technology companies Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
WM Motor now looks to secure its series-D financing "hopefully in the next six months," according to Chief Strategy Officer Rupert Mitchell.
Mitchell also said WM Motor is close to completing the construction of its second manufacturing facility in Hubei province.
"We're targeting a new product launch every year for the next several years," said Mitchell.
"A key excitement for us in the next six months is the second generation of our 'living engine' operating system. We've got our operating system incorporating machine learning around the WM ID, and some very interesting social features that we are incorporating with the second generation."
He said the current EX5 is built around three core technologies -- the "Living Motion" electric powertrain; the "Living Pilot" intelligent driving assistance system with its L2 ADAS autonomous driving features, and the "Living Engine" operating system providing smart connectivity and interactive features in the cabin.
There are three variants of the Weltmeister EX5: the Weltmeister EX5 400 Mate, Weltmeister EX5 400 and Weltmeister EX5 520.
The EX5 400 Mate and EX5 400 both come with a 52.5 kWh battery providing 400 kilometers NEDC range. The EX5 520 is equipped with a 69 kWh battery and can reach out to 520 kilometers NEDC range.
WM Motor uses 160 kW (218 PS; 215 bhp) electric drive modules supplied by BorgWarner that can provide up to 315 N·m (232 lb·ft) of torque in all EX5 variants.
