Evotrex has been around for just two years, but the startup is already planning to build and sell its first hybrid RV travel trailers next year, targeting around 1,000 units annually.
To get there, Evotrex has closed a $30 million Series A funding round, bringing its total raised to $46 million. Much of that came from a consortium of Chinese and Hong Kong-based investment firms, like GSR United Capital, Forebright Concerto Capital, TTGG Ventures, and Pegasus Capital, among others. Anker, the consumer electronics company, is among its seed investors.
The L.A.-based startup will need that capital finish building and testing its RV, which it revealed at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show after emerging from stealth mode last year.
It will also need it to hold its ground in a crowded field of startups. Legacy manufacturers have been slow to get going. Thor’s first electric vehicle is going to rental fleets rather than dealerships, and Winnebago’s eRV2 has been in field testing since 2023 without reaching consumers. That gap has drawn a wave of startups, and Evotrex is racing to fill it first.
Co-founder Alex Xiao told TechCrunch that he is excited about the competition, and is drawing on his experience as a product manager at Anker to help differentiate Evotrex.
“We are not afraid of competition, competition is a good thing. We educate the market together, we grow the market together,” he said. “I think in the long term the strongest companies will have many things — you must be very good at product definition, R&D, and supply chain. You also need to be very good at distribution [and] service. Many things together. It’s a very complicated business.”
Some RV startups like Lightship and Pebble are pushing all-electric travel trailers. Evotrex is one of the few that is building a hybrid system. Specifically, it’s an RV powered by a battery pack that can be recharged with an onboard gas engine — an approach commonly referred to as an “extended range electric vehicle,” or EREV.
The goal, Xiao said, is to create an RV that can really let people live off the grid for extended periods of time — something that’s hard to accomplish with an all-electric power source, or a gas engine that still requires an electric hookup.
This has apparently proven popular. Evotrex said that 90% of its existing order book is for the “fully loaded Premium trim” of its PG5 RV, which is priced at around $160,000.
Xiao said Evotrex has finished validating a functional version of its first RV, but needs the next 10 to 12 months to thoroughly test the PG5’s durability. It’s a known vulnerability in the industry. RVs have so many moving parts that mechanical integrity isn’t always a guarantee, and Xiao said Evotrex is taking it seriously. As evidence, he pointed to the fact that the company’s first service employee came on board half a year ago, while its first sales employee only joined this past month, suggesting that Evotrex is prioritizing its ability to support customers over the ability to sell to them.
Evotrex still plans to manufacture its RVs in China and complete final assembly in California, and Xiao said he’s still locking down locations for both. But he believes a Los Angeles base will give Evotrex access to its target market, as well as a range of nearby climates that are useful for testing.
Xiao said he’s leaning on another lesson from Anker, one that helped that company skyrocket in popularity: focusing on the right customers, and getting them to evangelize the product.
“The first thing is you need to find the real customer demand,” he said. “The second is you need to deliver a really good product, and third is: the customer will say the story for you.”
Factional National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Bala Gombe, has reacted to the court judgement that sacked David Mark's faction of the party and nullified Atiku Abubakar's candidacy for the 2027 presidential election.
Gombe commended the Federal High Court and the trial judge for what he described as the independent, impartial and intellectually rigorous manner in which the matter was handled and determined.
He said his commendation, as a citizen and stakeholder in the nation's democracy, was that of someone who recognised that when a court speaks with clarity, courage and fidelity to the law, the public must also respond with gratitude.
"By every measure, this was a politically sensitive, highly charged and nationally watched dispute. It touched on party autonomy, internal democracy, constitutional supremacy within political associations, and the proper role of the Independent National Electoral Commission as regulator," Gombe said in a statement reacting to the judgement.
"It is precisely in such cases that judicial independence is most tested, and most needed.
"By subjecting the question of leadership emergence to constitutional and statutory scrutiny, rather than to political expediency, His Lordship affirmed a foundational principle of Nigerian jurisprudence as provided in Sections 1, 6, 228 and 223(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: political parties are not above their own constitutions, and the Electoral Act is not a mere suggestion.
"Where a party's constitution prescribes a procedure for succession and leadership must be obeyed. Where a political party fails to comply with the rules, procedures, and constitutional provisions laid down for its own governance, the court is duty-bound to intervene in order to safeguard democracy, uphold the rule of law, and prevent anarchy, as no man is above the law, and no man is below it.
"This commendation is not merely about one litigant succeeding and another losing. It is about what the judgement represents for Nigerians and for the African Democratic Congress:
"It restores public confidence that a judge can still decide on the law and the facts alone, uninfluenced by political pressure, media commentary, or the weight of personalities involved in the suit.
"It affirms that leadership must emerge through lawful process, not through imposition, and that aggrieved members have a legitimate right to seek redress in court rather than resort to self-help.
"It reassures ordinary Nigerians that the court remains the last hope of the common man, and indeed, of every man.
"As the Supreme Court has repeatedly held, 'justice must not only be done, but must manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.' His Lordship's conduct in this suit embodies that principle.
"I therefore respectfully commend His Lordship for upholding the independence of the judiciary and the sanctity of the judicial oath to do right to all manner of people without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; demonstrating patience, erudition, and firmness in a matter of immense political sensitivity; and delivering a judgement that strengthens the rule of law, party discipline, and constitutional democracy in Nigeria.
"May His Lordship's example continue to inspire the Bench and the Bar, and may the Federal High Court continue to stand as a bastion of impartial justice.
"I also wish to place on record my profound commendation to our team of lawyers for their exceptional diligence, intellectual rigour, and unwavering commitment to the cause of justice. Their professionalism, perseverance, and fidelity to the rule of law were instrumental in ensuring that justice was not only sought, but seen to be done.
"I further extend my heartfelt gratitude to our teeming supporters across the length and breadth of this country for their steadfastness, loyalty, and fervent prayers throughout this process. Your faith and solidarity have been a source of immense strength and encouragement."