Last week the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), backed by Russia’s sovereign fund RDIF and China Investment Corporation, announced that it took part in a $1 billion Series D round of investment in Chinese e-car maker NIO. Led by China-based Tencent Holdings, the round also involved several institutional investors from the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The deal brings to $2.1 billion the total funding amount raised so farby the company.
Among early backers of the company were Baidu, GIC, TPG, Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, in addition to Tencent Holdings.
Deeming the investment “an enormous opportunity for e-mobility in Russia,” Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF and co-CEO of RCIF, noted that the country has the potential “to become one of the most promising markets for this type of transport.”
“We are already working to create the infrastructure for this, including a network of charging stations for electric vehicles with Italian Enel,” he added.
NIO is actively preparing to launch serial production of its first electric car, the seven-seater SUV ES8. The model is expected to appear on the market next year.
Earlier this month the RCIF invested an undisclosed amount in Hyperloop One, the Californian startup which aims to commercialize next-gen transportation technologies.
Source: RDIF, CrunchBase.
