Qihoo 360, China's largest cybersecurity company, led the round with RMB 2 billion.

(Image credit: Neta)

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup Neta Automobile announced Wednesday that it closed an RMB 4 billion ($625 million) Series D1 round of funding, six months after the round was launched in late April.

The round was led by Qihoo 360, China's largest cybersecurity company, which invested RMB 2 billion, with participation from a number of companies including CCB International Asset Management.

Qihoo 360 has participated in two consecutive rounds of financing for Neta, investing a cumulative RMB 2.9 billion, Neta said, adding that its next round of financing has been initiated and will close soon.

Shanghai-listed Qihoo 360 said in an announcement last week that it plans to invest RMB 2.9 billion of its own funds in Neta, which will bring its stake to 16.59 percent and make it the second-largest shareholder after its management team.

The deal will be carried out in two steps, in the first of which Qihoo 360 will receive the right to increase Neta's capital by a company for zero consideration, acquiring a 10.6944 percent stake for 900 million yuan.

The price of this stage of the capital increase is based on Neta's Series B financing with a pre-investment valuation of RMB 3.5 billion and a post-investment valuation of RMB 7.013 billion.

In the second step, Qihoo 360 participated in Neta's D1 round of financing with an RMB 2 billion capital increase into the company, at a pre-investment valuation of RMB 22 billion.

The investment is mainly based on the good development opportunities and market prospect expectations in the cyber security and smart connected car industry, Qihoo 360 said.

On October 25, Qihoo 360 announced that the investment deal completed all procedures required by government departments and the related agreement was signed.

Neta is the electric vehicle brand of Hozon Auto, which was founded in October 2014. The first Neta model was launched in November 2018, and as of now, Neta has 2 models on sale - Neta V and Neta U.

The Neta V is priced between RMB 59,900 and RMB 75,900, while the Neta U Pro has an official guide price between RMB 99,800 and RMB 159,800 after subsidies.

Neta delivered 7,699 vehicles in September, up 281 percent year-over-year and up 16 percent from August. As of September 30, Neta's cumulative deliveries were 67,730 units.

Neta delivered 7,699 vehicles in Sept, up 281% year-on-year