On February 10, Suzhou Zhilu Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhilu Technology") completed a total of 100 million yuan in series C financing. According to Tianyancha data, the round of investment was led by Xiaomi Group, and other participating institutions also include Yonghua Investment, Yuanhe Holdings, and Leading Venture Capital.
According to the official website of Zhilu Technology, the company was founded in 2010, the main core components of new energy vehicles, providing vehicle high-voltage connection solutions, core products include high-voltage connectors, charging and replacing connectors, high-voltage distribution units, etc., the business can cover power batteries, drive motors, three-electric technology to vehicle manufacturing, charging and replacing facilities The entire new energy vehicle industry chain. By the middle of 2022, the company can have an annual supporting capacity of 3 million new energy vehicles, and its customers cover a number of mainstream automobile manufacturers and three electric suppliers at home and abroad.
From 2015 to now, Zhilu Technology has completed a total of five rounds of financing from angel round to C round, the first four rounds of financing have won the favor of SAIC Investment and other institutions, Xiaomi Group has also further touched the field of electrical systems of new energy vehicles through the latest round of financing of Zhilu Technology, and expanded its investment matrix in new energy projects again. Sun Changxu, managing partner of Xiaomi Production and Investment, said: "Smart electric vehicles have brought great opportunities to the development of China's auto parts industry, and Xiaomi Production and Investment relies on Xiaomi Group to continue to invest in outstanding Chinese enterprises in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to help industrial development. He looks forward to the cooperation between Xiaomi Production and Investment and Zhilu Technology to help the development of enterprises in terms of capital, talents, technology and business, and looks forward to the company's efforts of management and all employees to move towards the world's leading enterprise of new energy vehicle high-voltage electric connection solutions.
In fact, Xiaomi's continuous investment in the upstream and downstream of the new energy vehicle industry chain has indeed not stopped. According to Tianyancha data, as early as November 2019, Xiaomi participated in the C round of financing of Xiaopeng Automobile, a new car-making force. In April 2020, Xiaomi invested in the Internet of Vehicles service provider PATEO Internet of Vehicles; in June of the same year, it entered the BYD Semiconductor A+ round, touching the field of automotive-grade semiconductors; and then in July, it intervened in the D round financing of commercial vehicle energy supplier Energy Chain Group. In 2021, Xiaomi announced the manufacture of cars; on July 30 of the same year, Xiaomi participated in the investment of a total of 11.25 billion yuan in the power battery industry Honeycomb Energy and Ganfeng Lithium Battery in one day; a little later in September of the same year, Xiaomi Automobile was established with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan, and Lei Jun served as a legal person; in November, Xiaomi Production and Investment added 70 million US dollars to the lidar enterprise Hesai Technology in the D+ round, and invested in solid-state lithium battery manufacturer Weilan New Energy. Entering 2022, Xiaomi's chess pieces in the field of new energy have fallen on the smart green technology focusing on electrical systems.
It can be seen from the above multiple operations that after several years of operation, Xiaomi's project matrix has indeed covered the new energy automobile industry chain to a large extent, and has penetrated all branches from auto parts such as lidar to power batteries, electrical systems, automotive chips and automobile sales.
On January 30, 2022, the Beijing Municipal People's Government issued a notice on printing and distributing the "List of Key Tasks in the 2022 Municipal Government Work Report", article 60 of the task list mentions: Promote the construction of Xiaomi Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Weilan New Energy Solid-State Battery Phase I, Toyota Fuel Cell R&D Center and other projects, and support Beijing Benz to increase production capacity and launch new energy products. Completed the renovation and expansion of the ideal automobile manufacturing base to ensure the smooth installation and commissioning of the equipment. Support the transformation and upgrading of traditional car companies such as BAIC Group. Then, whether the process of xiaomi car manufacturing should be accelerated, and whether smart green technology will also contribute to it, it is worth continuing to pay attention to.