(Yicai Global) July 4 -- Shares of China's W-Ibeda High Tech Group surged by the limit of 20 percent after the manufacturer of automotive test equipment said it will raise CNY695 million (USD104 million) via private placement to build test sites for electric and smart vehicles to meet rising demand.

W-Ibeda's stock price [SHA: 688071] remained 20 percent up at CNY56.22 (USD8.40) apiece in the afternoon. The shares, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Star Market, have rallied more than 30 percent over the past 12 months.

The company intends to construct four performance testing facilities, the Shanghai-based maker and user of powertrain test bench systems said in a recent statement. W-Ibeda counts Chinese electric carmaker Nio, as well as joint ventures of General Motors and Ford Motor, as some of its clients, according to its website.

W-Ibeda needs to improve its testing capacity as the company has been receiving more service orders in recent years with a rising share of income from this business, it explained.

Almost a third of the headline figure, or CNY206 million, will be spent on building a test center for electric vehicle powertrains. Less than 10 percent of the big sum will be put into developing smart inertial navigation systems.

Some of the investment plans target overseas markets. The firm will pour CNY82.6 million (USD12.3 million) into establishing a new energy vehicle test center in Munich to become a first-tier supplier to European carmakers and to explore partnerships with well-known German auto companies.

Moreover, W-Ibeda intends to splurge CNY98 million on building an intelligent driving test center involving virtual simulation, laboratory, and road tests. It will also spend CNY44.2 million on setting up a facility to test hydrogen fuel cell batteries. The remaining CNY200 million will be considered working capital, it added.

The hydrogen project should take three years to complete while the other four require two years of construction.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi