(Yicai) Oct. 13 -- Hozon Auto and French banking group BNP Paribas are teaming up on personal loans for car purchases as well as automobile insurance and other financial services, paving the way for China's top-selling electric car startup to expand its foothold in the European market.

BNP Paribas’ global network and high professional standing will help Hozon Auto develop well in Europe, the Shanghai-based carmaker said yesterday, citing the memorandum of understanding inked by the two parties in Shanghai that day.

The tie-up will allow Hozon Auto, which already has a presence in ASEAN region, South America and the Middle East, to further expand its overseas market and financial services, it said.

Hozon Auto, which only started to go global last year, already serves 350,000 international customers.

Hozon ranked first among Chinese auto startups last year, selling 152,000 Neta-branded vehicles. But deliveries fell 6.1 percent to 72,500 in the first seven months from a year earlier. Valued at CNY18 billion (USD2.4 billion), Hozon also ranked 386th among the world's 1,361 unicorns, according to the Global Unicorn Index released by the Hurun Research Institute in April.

Editor: Kim Taylor