Asian Tech Press (Sep 7) -- Cao Cao Mobility, commonly known as Caocao Chuxing, Geely-backed ride-hailing platform, held a press conference Monday night to officially announce closing of 3.8 billion yuan ($588.4 million) Series B financing.

The investors of the round comprise five state-owned enterprises in Suzhou, namely Suzhou Xiangcheng Financial Holdings (Group) Co Ltd, Suzhou High-Speed Railway New City State-owned Assets Holding (Group) Co., Suzhou City Investment And Development Co.,Ltd., ABC International Investment (Suzhou) Co.,Ltd., and Dongwu Innovation Asset Management Co., Ltd.

It is reported that this round of financing is not only the first domestic equity investment received by a ride-hailing company since this year, but also the largest amount of single financing received by a Chinese ride-hailing company since 2020.

Caocao Chuxing focuses on new energy vehicles, and is a strategic investment business of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd, in the layout of "new energy vehicle sharing ecology".

As of August 31, 2021, Geely-backed ride-hailing firm has launched in 62 cities in China, with over 60 million registered users, and served a total of 280 million passengers in 2020.

At the same time, Caocao Chuxing announced that it will locate its China headquarters in Suzhou, a city west of Shanghai.

Eric Li Shufu, the founder and Chairman of Geely, said that Caocao Chuxing should insist on being a travel platform for new energy vehicles. Regarding the increasing regulation of the ride-hailing sector in China, Li said, "The more compliant it is, the more it develops and the more it is respected. For a sizeable company like Caocao Chuxing, it is also a good opportunity for development."

The future of DiDi Global Inc. (DIDI), Caocao Chuxing's strongest rival in China, is currently unknown after it was subjected to cybersecurrity reviews by regulators in July.

(US$1 = 6.4564 yuan)