Karma’s Work EV Partner Ayro Raises $10M In Stock Sale

Following up on Karma Automotive’s announcement a few months ago, light-duty electric vehicle maker Ayro said today it had raised $10 million through new “definitive agreements with Carnegie Hudson Resources, an investment arm of Wanxiang America, and several existing institutional investors.” Ayro sold just over 3.7 million shares to Wanxiang and the other investors for prices ranging from $6.06 and $8.91 per share. The deal was finalized today.

The sale brings another electric vehicle maker more firmly under Wanxiang’s roof. Wanxiang Group is a Chinese conglomerate that owns both Wanxiang America, which in turn owns Karma Automotive, and A123 Systems, a company that has long been designing and selling batteries for electric vehicles. A123 provided the batteries for original Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid in 2011 and 2012. Wanxiang purchased the bankrupt Fisker for $149.2 million in 2014.

“This strategic investment further expands our relationship with Karma and provides better access to Wanxiang’s global supply-chain, as well as A123’s leadership in automotive lithium battery technology,” Ayro CEO Rod Keller said in a statement. “This important investment should help Ayro accelerate our mission to provide next generation, purpose-built EV solutions designed for the urban, last-mile, and food delivery markets. We believe that this strategic investment by Wanxiang and existing investors is a testament to our future potential.”

Back in September, Karma and Ayro announced a strategic manufacturing, engineering and design partnership and said they would build Ayro’s small work EVs at Karma’s production facility in Moreno Valley, California. The plan called for “more than 20,000 vehicles” to be manufactured by the end of 2023. The two companies valued the deal at more than $300 million.

As part of the stock sale announcement, Ayro said it would use the $10 million (minus “placement agent fees and other offering expenses”) for “manufacturing, production, operations, product portfolio market expansion, and general working capital.” Keller specified that the money would be used to “build strong fundamentals, expand production capacity beyond our current 600 cars per month, drive stronger market penetration, and position Ayro to meet ever growing demand with a variety of EV products across our value chain.”

Texas-based Ayro sells two different little, all-electric work vehicles: the Club Car 411 meant for fleet use in urban or campus areas, and the 311, a three-wheeled vehicle meant for last-mile urban deliveries. Both can be had in three configurations. A four-wheel drive, off-road concept EV, the 511 4×4 Concept, has been revealed but no production plans have been announced. Ayro was founded in 2017.