Nothing yet seems to be able to stop Chinese investor enthusiasm for electric vehicle makers, not even subsidy cuts and not even for new players.
On Sunday, one such startup, Enovate, said it had secured more than Rmb2 billion ($298 million) in Series A funding led by Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Electric.
It is a comparatively large sum of money for a relatively little-known electric vehicle (EV) brand, and all the more remarkable given Enovate has yet to start full production.
Indeed, the proceeds of the fundraising are to be used to build the company almost from scratch –from production facilities through to branding and research.
But then, technically, Enovate is a revamped brand. A month ago it was a company called Dearcc that produced mini EVs with a range of only around 255km per charge and had franchises in third- and fourth-tier Chinese cities, targeting price-sensitive buyers.
The decision to change names and switch to the production of high-end SUVs with 500km driving ranges came in July.
