Chinese automotive retail platform Huasheng Haoche has pocketed 650 million yuan ($91.8 million) in a fresh funding round led by a state-owned investor, without divulging investor details.
The firm will use the proceeds to expand its sales network as well as expanding the number of its brick-and-mortar retail stores, according to a release on Wednesday.
Founded in June 205, the Tianjin-headquartered auto dealer platform under JieZhong International Finance Leasing, targets customers located across China’s third- to fifth-tier cities. Besides adopting a non-franchise model, meaning that the platform directly operates all of its 600 retail stores across the country, the firm also offers sale-leaseback and direct lease for car buyers.
Third-tier cities fall into a gross domestic product range of between $18 billion and $67 billion, while most fourth-tier cities’ GDP tends to fall below $17 billion, according to data from media outlet South China Morning Post.
The news comes at a time after China wrapped up 2023 with a 12% year-on-year growth in automobile sales, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) .
Previously, the firm secured $210 million in a Series B funding round in October 2018 led by Singapore-based private equity firm Crescent Point Capital, with the participation of Goldman Sachs as well as existing backers JD Finance and FreesFund.
Crescent Point Capital (CPC) was acquired by NYSE-listed investment manager Ares Management Corporation in July 2023, while JD Finance was rebranded as Jingdong Digits Technology Holding (JD Digits) in November 2018.
JD Digits was renamed again in 2021 as Jingdong Technology Holding (JD Technology) to focus on cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses amid China’s big tech crackdown.