Chengshi, which designs and manufactures electric vans and trucks catered to last-mile delivery in China, has secured 1 billion yuan ($136.6 million) in a Series B funding round led by Hidden Hill Capital, the private equity arm of global logistics giant GLP.
Local investor Gravity Investment and China’s top lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium are among the investors that participated in the round that aims to accelerate the firm’s global expansion plan, according to a company announcement on Monday evening.
Chengshi taps into the Chinese market where many last-mile delivery couriers have long relied on their unsafe two- or third-wheelers to deliver packages around. However, that mode of delivery presents challenges to both driver and road safety, with major cities, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, vowing to tighten regulations against these vehicles.
Allcheer Intelligent Automobile, a firm set up by Juzhen Shuju Technology and state-affiliated Qilu Finance Investment Group, currently operates the Chengshi brand as well as the firm’s carmaking factory located in the city Jinan of eastern Shandong province, according to its website.
Besides its electric delivery vehicle business, Chengshi Group, which encompasses a number of firms including Allcheer Intelligent Automobile and Juzhen Shuju Technology, also engages in the R&D of autonomous delivery vehicles as well as developing software and hardware that enables vehicles to exchange information with their surroundings, a technology that is known as vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X).
Previously, the firm sealed its Series A funding round in December 2019. With offices across some of China’s major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, the firm has expanded its presence across Italy, Spain, and Germany since its inception in 2012.