Farizon Auto, a commercial new energy vehicle (NEV) brand owned by Chinese multinational automaker Geely, announced on Wednesday that it has raised over $300 million in a Series Pre-A round led by GLP’s private equity arm Hidden Hill Capital.
Hangzhou-based Farizon Auto, which was launched in 2016 by Geely’s commercial vehicle subsidiary Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group, raised new capital to invest in product R&D, the expansion of its industry partnerships, and the consolidation of its market position in China’s NEV sector, said the startup in an official statement.
China’s Transfer Group, a conglomerate with businesses across manufacturing and logistics, backed the Series Pre-A round alongside other participating investors such as CITIC Securities Investment and South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group. GLy Capital Management, a Hong Kong-based mobility investment firm that counts Geely and Seoul-based SK Inc among its key limited partners (LPs), also invested in the deal.
The NEV subsidiary, whose parent firm owns carmakers including Lotus and Volvo, develops a range of NEV products including trucks of all sizes, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), and public buses.
It has two major business lines, namely urban commercial vehicles consisting of both pure-electric models and range-extended EV models that run on electricity but carry a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) known as a “range extender” to pump extra juice into the battery in cases when it runs out. As its other key business line, the firm provides highway commercial vehicles powered by hybrid liquid hydrogen and methanol, as well as pure-electric models assisted with battery swapping technology.
The deal marks yet another big-cheque bet made by Hidden Hill Capital on China’s eco-friendly logistics industry. Founded in 2018 by Singapore-based GLP, Hidden Hill Capital has by far deployed a total of over 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in over 50 companies across its focused areas of modern logistics tech and digital supply chain.
Its better-known portfolio companies include G7 Connect, a Tencent-backed provider of Internet of Things (IoT)-based fleet management software. G7 in June merged with its smaller competitor E6 Technology, four months after it had raised $200 million in a funding round co-led by Trustbridge Partners and CS Capital.
Hidden Hill Capital is also an investor in cross-border logistics service provider Zongteng Group, autonomous trucks developer Inceptio Technology, and online steel transaction platform Ouyeel in China.
The backing of Hidden Hill Capital is expected to help Farizon Auto access GLP’s logistics and warehousing recourses across China, as well as around the world where GLP has presences in 17 countries and $120 billion in total assets under management (AUM). Its China branch manages $72 billion, or 60% of the firm’s total AUM, according to GLP’s official website.