Dreame Technology, a Chinese company best known for its robot vacuum cleaners, has secured its first round of funding for its electric vehicle (EV) business, just two weeks after announcing its entry into car manufacturing.
Chinese tech outlet Sina Tech reported the financing on Thursday without disclosing the investment amount or participants. Securing this funding signifies capital recognition of Dreame’s automotive strategy — “China R&D, Germany manufacturing, global sales”, the company was cited as saying. Dreame added that its existing brand, technology and global distribution channels will support the new unit.
The company is scouting a factory site in Germany, adjacent to Tesla’s Berlin facility, with the planned plant expected to be 1.2 times larger than Tesla’s, according to the report. Dreame’s founder and CEO Yu Hao visited Germany earlier this month to evaluate potential sites, and earlier this week the company shared renderings of its first model, expected to be shown at the next CES in the United States.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Suzhou near Shanghai, Dreame has built a consumer electronics portfolio including robotic vacuum cleaners, cordless vacuums, smart scrubbers, high-speed hair dryers and robotic lawn mowers, sold in more than 120 countries.
On August 28, Dreame said it would enter the EV sector, one of the few newcomers in recent years amid tightened rules on auto production in China. Its first model is planned as an ultra-luxury pure-electric car positioned to compete with the Bugatti Veyron, with a debut targeted for 2027.