Faraday Future, the California-based electric vehicle (EV) maker with Chinese origin, on Wednesday disclosed that the company has scored USD 45 million in debt financing from Birch Lake, a Chicago-based merchant bank, to support mass production of its FF 91 model and continue development of FF 81, according to the company’s website.
“FF’s technology, product strategy, and unwavering commitment to its product suite launch—including its commitment with getting the FF 91 into consumers’ hands next year—are impressive,” said Birch Lake CEO Jack Butler. The commercial bank was the main lender in a USD 225 million debt financing round in April 2019.
FF 91 will kick off production approximately nine months after the closing of a new round of funding, which is expected in the near term, the company said on its website on Wednesday, without revealing anything of the incoming round.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Faraday Future was planning to go public by merging with a special-purchase acquisition company or SPAC, a shell company with no commercial operations, formed to raise capital for an initial public offering.
The FF 91 model, which was premiered on January 4, 2017, has been stalling at the pre-mass production stage soon after its founder, the Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting, fled to the US due to loan defaults. Jia quit his position as CEO in September 2019 and was replaced by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld.
While the cash-strapped EV maker has started a new journey since then, other companies have gained firm footholds in China’s EV market. Tencent-backed Nio (NASDAQ: NIO), Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), Alibaba-backed Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), and Baidu-backed WM Motors are enjoying support from investors and already delivering vehicles to consumers.
Nio sold 12,206 vehicles in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 154.3% year-over-year. WM Motor just kicked off its initial public offering on the tech-focused Star Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, after raising USD 1.5 billion in a Series D round.