China’s Seres Group Company Ltd announced that its battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturing subsidiary, Seres Automobile Company Ltd, has secured up to CNY 5 billion (US$ 700 million) in new capital from financial investors in a Series E funding round.

The automaker’s new investors include ICBC Financial Assets Investment Ltd and Bocom Financial Asset Investment Ltd, with the company looking to strengthen its balance sheet as the fierce price war in the country’s BEV segment shows no sign of letting up.

Last week struggling Chinese BEV maker Hozon Automobile was forced to begin bankruptcy proceedings after a local contractor, Shanghai-based advertising company Shanghai Yuxing Advertising Company, filed a petition calling for a bankruptcy review over unpaid bills.

Seres’ latest capital increase follows an earlier funding round, in December 2024, backed by the China Development Bank Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund Ltd, in which the automaker raised approximately CNY 10 billion.

Seres, which produces vehicles under the Aito brand, said the new capital will help strengthen its financial position, support long-term strategic development, reduce its debt-to-asset ratio, and promote sustainable high-quality growth.