Shanghai (ZXZC)- Chinese EV startup WM Motor said on Feb. 9 it formed strategic partnerships with a number of banks and financial institutes for a line of credit worth 11.5 billion yuan ($1.783 billion).

Photo credit: WM Motor

The first 3.5 billion ($542.72 million) worth of credit line has been granted by a group of banks led by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Other banks involve include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Huaxia Bank, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Industrial Bank and Tai Fung Bank. The capital will be primarily used in the development of smart manufacturing, technical R&D as well as the operation and deployment of user services, covering the innovative service models, sales channels and digital marketing.

WM Motor is moving faster on the R&D of intelligent vehicles. In September 2020, the startup launched its all-new technology strategy “Ideal 4” composed of four units, namely the Intelligent Cockpit, the Digital Architecture, the EIC (electronic integration center) and the Autonomous Driving.

In the meantime, the startup announced the cooperation with Qualcomm, Baidu, Tsinghua Unigroup and Sino IC Leasing for the application of emerging technologies like 5G and Level 4 autonomous driving on new energy vehicle models.

The W6, a full-electric SUV model jointly developed by WM Motor and Baidu, rolled off the assembly line on Jan. 19 at the startups' Hubei manufacturing base and is expected for delivery at the Auto China 2021. It will be the first production model armed with Baidu's Cloud AVP (automated valet parking) system.