UBCO, a specialist in utility electric vehicles, has secured USD10 million from existing investor Jubilee Glory Investments for its upcoming Series B funding round.
This additional investment comes hot on the heels of other key milestones for UBCO, which raised USD10 million USD earlier this year to fund global expansion by bringing on board investors Seven Peak Ventures, Nuance Capital, TPK, and existing venture investors GD1, and wholesale investment partners Snowball Effect and Enterprise Angels.
As part of this capital injection, UBCO has entered a supply chain management service agreement with TPK, leaning on the Taiwan-based global technology powerhouse’s network to increase production capacity for UBCO’s existing 2X2 product line, provide dedicated capacity for UBCO’s future releases – FRX1 and 4×4 product lines – and streamline supplier sourcing, all while focusing on increasing quality and reducing costs.
The terms of this commitment enables UBCO to fulfil ever increasing demand from the United States and European markets, double down on its ESG commitments and expand its vehicle platform from two to four-wheels.
Katherine Sandford, UBCO CEO and Executive Chair, says: “We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished in the last six years, and the continued support and strengthened commitments of our investors is only an indication of the exciting and significant growth to come. We see a huge opportunity within the US market across applications such as adventure recreation and agriculture, where UBCO will become more relevant than ever, and we’re ready to grab it with both handlebars.
“Despite the supply chain disruptions and shortages that have faced the worldover, we have remained laser-focused in securing our position as the global leader in the utility EV category, and with our strategic investors and their production networks we believe that reaching that goal is just around the corner.”
Freddie Liu, Chief Strategy Officer of Taiwan-based TPK says: “UBCO has very quickly emerged as one of the leading players in the utility electric vehicle industry. The team has developed cutting-edge and commercial-proven technology, and we are excited to be an accelerator in supporting UBCO’s future expansion of their product lines with our experience and expertise in supply chain management.”
Chintaka Ranatunga, UBCO Director and GD1 Founding Partner, says: “At GD1 we’re passionate about supporting New Zealand innovations, especially those that are focused on global expansion from day one. We believe UBCO is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the EV boom that is currently sweeping the transport industry. With significant progress made in the past few years, the team has built a future-proofed business that we look forward to continuing to support as they compete on the global stage.”
UBCO was founded in 2015 by Daryl Neal, Anthony Clyde and Timothy Allan, and has scaled rapidly to provide nearly 4,000 vehicles to consumers and enterprise customers across international markets including the United States, Australia and Europe.
As the appetite grows for EV and sustainable transport options, UBCO is considering several capital pathways in both the United States, Australia and New Zealand, with an aim to secure its leadership position in the utility electric vehicle (UEV) category.
