Private equity firm Baird Capital has made an investment in Carsing, a Shanghai-based car-auction business.

Carsing operates a used-car auction service with 15 locations in Shanghai and Shezhen. The investment is expected to help the company expand in China's automotive market.

The size of Baird's stake in the business is not disclosed. "The Chinese automotive market is a rapidly expanding opportunity," says Baird's Yongshan Zhang, principal with the firm’s China Growth Equity team.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Baird has been involved in China's auto market for some years. In 2013, the firm invested in Car King, a used-car business modeled after the U.S. car company CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) that boasts a strict vehicle inspection process, straightforward pricing and a fixed-sales commission. For more on Baird's growth strategy in China, see 5 Buyers Find New Customers Abroad. 

Recently, Baird sold MedData Inc., a health care services business, to Mednax Inc. (NYSE: MD). In July, the firm sold Frontage Laboratories to Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co. Ltd.