(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- Sunwoda Electronic’s stock price gained after the Chinese power battery maker said a unit received an investment of CNY2.4 billion (USD380 million) from 19 companies, including Chinese electric car startups Nio and Li Auto.

Sunwoda Electronic [SHE: 300207] finished 4.1 percent higher today at CNY36.20 (USD5.73), after earlier surging as much as 10.8 percent.

Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery will use CNY1.2 billion of the investment to raise its capital to CNY6.3 billion, its Shenzhen-based parent company said in a statement yesterday. The remainder will go to supplement the unit’s capital reserves.

Li Auto affiliate Jiangsu Chehejia Automobile invested CNY400 million (USD63.3 million) for an about 3.2 percent stake in Sunwoda Electric Vehicle, while Nio-backed Suzhou Weirui Venture Capital Partnership invested CNY250 million for about 2 percent, Sunwoda Electronic added.

The 19 investors acquired a combined stake of 19.5 percent. Sunwoda Electronic remains Sunwoda Electric Vehicle’s largest shareholder with 57.5 percent, down from 71.5 percent.

Sunwoda Electronic founded Sunwoda Electric in 2014. The parent company had a power battery installed capacity of 2.1 gigawatt-hours as of last year, ranking 10th in China with a market share of 1.3 percent, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Sunwoda Electric works with many automakers including China’s Geely Holding Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group, France’s Groupe Renault, and Japan’s Nissan Motor. It posted revenue of CNY1.5 billion and a net loss of CNY253.7 million in the first three quarters of last year, per its latest financial report.

Due to the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, carmakers are facing short supply of power batteries. Market researcher SNE Research predicted that global demand for EV batteries will reach 406 GWh by 2023, while supply is expected to fall short at 335 GWh.

To ensure supply leading carmakers including Tesla and Volkswagen Group have entered the power battery industry by building their own plants or investing in others’.

Editor: Futura Costaglione