Chinese EV startup Nio, formerly known as NextEV, has raised more than $1 billion in its latest fundraising round, led by existing investor Tencent Holdings, bringing the firm’s valuation to about $5 billion, Reuters reports.

Nio, which was founded by Chinese internet entrepreneur William Li in 2014, plans to launch its first production car – the ES8 electric SUV – in December. Chairman Li boasted to Reuters in April that the new model would offer more features than Tesla’s Model X at a lower price.

Nio said in April it was forming an EV joint venture with China’s fourth-largest automaker, Chongqing Changan Automobile. The company has also announced plans to bring an autonomous EV to the US market by 2020.

Source: Reuters