Chinese electric car startup ENOVATE has received another multi-billion dollar blood transfusion after completing an over RMB 2 billion round of funding from Shanghai Electric in April 2019.

ENOVATE has recently completed a new round of financing of more than RMB 5 billion, with investors being local government industry guidance funds and large state-owned banks, Auto-time reported on October 13.

The funds will be used for subsequent research and development of new models, intelligent manufacturing, sales channels and service system construction, and brand marketing promotion.

Meanwhile, ENOVATE has started IPO preparations and plans to go public in 2021, the report said.

The report cites people with knowledge of the matter as saying that investors are optimistic about ENOVATE's R&D capabilities.

ENOVATE said it will accelerate the construction of its offline sales and service network after securing the new funding. The company expects to complete its target of 30 stores in 20 cities by the end of 2020 and will cover all first-tier, second-tier and some third-tier cities by 2025 when the number of stores will exceed 200.

In addition, ENOVATE will work with charging service providers to build a charging system that includes fast-charging stations, dedicated charging stations, and public charging, covering neighborhoods, commercial hotspots, and highways.

ENOVATE is one of China's new car manufacturing companies, formerly Dianka Auto, which was founded in 2015 and began planning a mid- to high-end product line in 2017.