(Yicai) Dec. 26 -- DeepWay, a joint venture of Chinese search engine giant Baidu and commercial vehicle logistics firm Lionbridge Financial Leasing, referred to as electric truck startup in the industry, has secured CNY750 million (USD102.8 million) in its latest fundraiser.

The Series B financing round was headed by Zhongan Capital Management and Puhua Investment, the Beijing-based smart new-energy heavy truck manufacturer announced today. Existing investor CBB Trust, CGTI Fund, Hefei Industrial Investment Holdings Group, and Feixi Country Industry Investment also took part.

The proceeds of the fundraiser will be used to accelerate DeepWay's research, development, and mass production of electric and smart technologies in Hefei and enhance the firm's layout in the key parts industry in Changxing, Zhejiang province, expanding its share in the smart new-energy heavy truck market, according to the company.

Established in 2020, DeepWay delivered its first truck, the DeepWay Star, to Contemporary Amperex Technology for the Chinese battery giant's trunk transport mission in June. Those vehicles has run for over 100 million kilometers.

DeepWay is also dedicated to advancing the commercialization of Level-4 autonomous driving tech in logistics cargo transport scenarios and has acquired a commercial vehicle self-driving road test license in Beijing.

In March last year, DeepWay banked CNY779 million in a Series A+ fundraiser led by Chinese textile giant Weiqiao Pioneering Group and SoftBank China Venture Capital, with Qiming Venture Partners also participating.

New energy commercial vehicle sales in China surged 31 percent to 462,000 units in the 11 months this year from a year earlier,  according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Total domestic commercial vehicle sales fell 9.9 percent to 2.68 million units in the period.

Editor: Martin Kadiev