(Yicai Global) July 14 -- Tianqi Lithium, China’s largest lithium miner, will invest USD150 million in the electric vehicle joint venture of auto giants Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding Group.

The investment is part of Smart Mobility’s Series A financing round, which aims to raise between USD250 million to USD300 million, Chengdu-based Tianqi Lithium said yesterday.

After the fundraiser, which will value Smart at about CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion), Tianqi Lithium will own around 2.8 percent, the firm added. Mercedes-Benz, Geely, and their affiliates will see their combined shareholding drop to 43.3 percent from 46 percent.

The investment will help Tianqi Lithium expand its business scope, gain new insights, and strengthen business collaboration with carmakers by better understanding their needs, the miner noted.

As the new energy vehicle industry grows, closer integration of the upstream and downstream sectors has become a main trend. 

Before Tianqi Lithium, Chinese lithium battery materials giant Ganfeng Lithium invested in electric carmakers GAC Aion and Voyah, controlled by Chinese state-owned GAC Group and Dongfeng Motor Group, respectively. It is a commonplace for auto firms to invest in lithium mines.

Singapore-based Smart Mobility holds a majority stake in Smart Automobile, a company registered in China’s Ningbo that runs the JV’s EV business.

In the first half of the year, Smart Mobility reported a net loss of CNY661 million (USD92.6 million) and operating revenue of CNY5.2 billion, a nearly three-fold increase on the whole of 2022. It delivered 23,500 EVs in the Chinese market in the six months ended June 30 and began shipments to Germany and France.

Editor: Futura Costaglione