Following the rapid announcement of 168 billion yuan in financing, the relatively quiet Future Mobility Corp (hereinafter referred to as FMC) in the "Internet-made car" camp also announced a plan to build a total investment of 10 billion yuan.
On the afternoon of January 19th, FMC signed a contract with the Nanjing Development Zone Government to announce the launch of a “high-end smart electric vehicle project” in Nanjing.
“Our total investment in Nanjing manufacturing base is 11.64 billion yuan, with a planned production capacity of 300,000 units. It is expected to be put into operation two years later.” FMC COO and co-founder Dai Lei to NBD (micro signal: NBD-AUTO ) said that after the factory project is on track, FMC is expected to launch its first product in 2020.
Compared with LeTV and Weilai, FMC lags behind the two companies in both the announcement of the factory plan and the launch of the first mass production. However, compared with the above-mentioned companies' more Internet background, FMC's senior management team mainly comes from luxury brands in the automotive industry. The R&D team also has a background of foreign-owned car companies, which is called the “dream team”.
Even so, FMC's financing problem has always been a topic of concern to the outside world. Even in Dai Lei’s view, this business that requires 20 billion yuan of capital is still a test of attracting capital.
The first prototype debuted in 2018
“FMC has identified the company’s Chinese name as 'Knowing' and is still in the registration stage.” Dai Lei said in an interview with NBD Auto that the production of FMC will be carried out in China. The reason for choosing Nanjing is that Due to the strong support of the Nanjing Municipal Government, on the other hand, it is hoped to rely on Nanjing's more comprehensive new energy vehicle industry cluster. "We hope that the localization rate of our products and components will reach 100%."
To this end, NBD vehicles learned from Nanjing that the new energy auto parts supplier LG Chem, LG Electronics, and another new energy vehicle company Great Wall Corolla have settled in Nanjing.
“The first phase of 150,000 units will be put into production in 2019.” Dai Lei said in an interview with NBD that the base will be used to produce the smart high-end electric vehicles against the Tesla. “We hope to build this base into the industry. The most advanced factory can be customized and produced in line with the Chinese manufacturing 2025 strategy."
In addition, NBD Auto learned from FMC's CEO and co-founder Bi Fukang that according to FMC's current plan, the Nanjing manufacturing base will complete the body and painting process in 2018, and achieve the production of the assembly shop at the end of the year; then in 2019 Achieve "serialized production."
FMC apparently hopes to use the start of the factory construction to respond to the previous doubts about its business advancement. On this basis, FMC revealed its future product planning for the first time.
NBD Motors understands that FMC will launch the first prototype of the product between the end of this year and early next year, and will be mass-produced by 2020.
“This is a medium-sized high-end SUV.” Dai Lei revealed to NBD, “But we hope that the starting price of the first product will be around RMB 300,000.”
In fact, compared to FMC, the first production car of Weilai Auto, which is also targeting the mid- to high-end new energy vehicle market, is expected to be launched at the end of this year. LeTV has also released plans to launch its products in 2018, and Great Wall China Crown products and factories have already been trial-produced. FMC's plant and product plans are slower than competitors.
"The normal development of automotive products requires a cycle." Bi Fukang introduced to NBD car, "I used to develop the BMW i8 in 38 months." As the general manager of the previous BMW i8 project, in his opinion, this is already a car. The fastest development cycle of the product.
　　 20 billion yuan "preparation" is still a test
NBD Auto understands that FMC's R&D team is mainly foreigners. Previously, there were working backgrounds for multinational auto companies, while executive teams mostly had luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. The "luxury lineup" of the core team once made FMC known as the "dream team" in the Internet.
In Dai Lei's view, the background of the automotive industry is the side of FMC that distinguishes it from other startups, and it is also an important reason for FMC to gain capital attention.
NBD Motors learned that FMC just completed the A round of financing at the end of last year, but the company is not willing to disclose the total amount of financing. However, according to the announcement issued by Harmony Motors on December 28 last year, Harmony Automobile invested 30 million US dollars in FMC and held 43.75% of its equity.
From the perspective of this investment alone, FMC does not have an advantage in funding.
At the forum of the electric vehicle hundred people’s association that just closed recently, Li Bin, chairman of Weilai Automobile, once told the outside world that if a new venture wants to build a car, it will “require at least 20 billion yuan of funds to prepare”; in addition, it is highly concerned by capital. LeTV has also reported that the capital chain is tight.
"I basically agree with Li Bin's estimate." Dai Lei admitted to the NBD car, "Probably, the new vehicle companies really need funds of this size."
For the future financing plan, Dai Lei did not disclose more details to the NBD car, but told reporters: "We have more than a dozen executives who have invested in the company, which is enough to prove our determination." In addition, according to him Introduction, the next round of FMC financing will be announced soon.
According to information previously disclosed, FMC's Series A financing is mainly used for product development. In addition, NBD Auto learned from a person in charge of FMC that the new round of financing is not used for factory construction.

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Chongqing Huanyu Automobile Sales Company , https://www.cqhuanyuauto.com