$1.6 Million In New Funding For Evatran (aka Plugless)
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Originally published on EV Obsession.
The wireless electric vehicle charging company Evatran — which sells its products under the “Plugless” brand name — has received another $1.6 million in investment funding from the Chinese firm Zhejiang VIE Science and Technology Company, according to recent reports sent to EV Obsession.
The investment decision means that the Chinese automotive parts manufacturer has now invested $3.2 million into the Richmond-based electric vehicle (EV) charging technologies company.
A further $2.3 million in investment funding may be coming from Zhejiang VIE sometime in the near future, as well, according to Evatran CEO Rebecca Hough.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch provides more:
Zhejiang VIE is the lead investor in a Series B round of funding in which Evatran expects to raise $10 million from private and institutional investors. Much of that has already been committed, but not announced, Hough said.
“I am excited about what this (funding) round does,” Hough said. “It confirms that there is really a lot of outside interest in the technology.”
…Hough declined to comment on how many charging units the company has sold so far, citing competitive reasons. She said sales increased tenfold in 2015, and she expects similar growth in 2016. Most of Evatran’s sales now are aftermarket to individual owners of electric vehicles.
…The investment from Zhejiang VIE means Evatran has an opportunity to sell the product directly to original equipment manufacturers in China’s automotive industry. Zhejiang VIE’s customers include the largest electric vehicle manufacturers in China, Hough said.
“They certainly have the customer base that we are looking for in terms of launching our product in China and having it integrated at an OEM level,” she continued.
The company is reportedly planning to use some of the new funding to double staff numbers (to around 27) in Richmond over the next 6 months or so.
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