Photo/VCG

Dec. 6 (NBD) -- Byton has added Japanese trading house Marubeni to its C-round investors, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker announced on Thursday afternoon.

The two sides will also discuss further cooperation in mobility services, energy solutions, overseas production and sale, among others, Byton said in a statement.

According to enterprise information platform Tianyancha, the EV maker has closed three funding rounds already from backers including world's leading lithium-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd and state-owned automaker FAW Group.

Besides Marubeni, the ongoing funding round has attracted FAW Group and Korean parts manufacturer Myoung Shin Co. as sponsors.

The new infusion of funding may help speed up the production and delivery of Byton's first EV model, the M-Byte, which is expected to launch in China in 2020 before becoming available in the U.S. and Europe in 2021.

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn