Former VW China icon’s EV startup said to land RMB10 billion investment

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Beijing BeyonCa Information Technology Co., Ltd., the automobile startup founded by former Volkswagen China’s iconic figure, Soh Weiming, is reportedly receiving RMB10 billion ($1.58 billion) strategic investment from Wuhan Changjiang Capital, a local media outlet reported on February 15th.

Soh Weiming; photo credit: Volkswagen China

A person close to the matter said that BeyonCa and Changjiang Capital had established an industrial fund for new energy vehicles with the investment. Meanwhile, it is possible for BeyonCa and relevant companies within the industrial chain to set up a passenger vehicle industrial base in Wuhan, forming a comprehensive supply chain ecosystem.

In fact, Soh Weiming’s personal auto business endeavor was exposed to the public last year, as Gasgoo previously reported, in December 2021.

Notably, Beijing BeyonCa Information Technology Co., Ltd. was registered on June 11th, 2021, with a $200 million capital, not long after Renault’s official announcement of Soh being their new CEO in China in March. Moreover, Soh Weiming is still listed as CEO of Renault China on the automaker's website.

Upon further digging, the parent company of Beijing BeyonCa Information Technology, BeyonCa HK Limited, has listed the vice president of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, You Zheng, and the chairman of Wuhan Dongfeng Insurance Brokers, Liao Xianzhi as its shareholders.

As one of the six auto manufacturing fortresses in the country, Wuhan is also home to Dongfeng Motor Corporation’s headquarters.