China’s Evergrande Unit Begins Mass Production of First Electric Vehicle Model

Evergrande Group’s Hengchi electric vehicles (EVs) are displayed at the Hengchi booth during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

SHANGHAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) – China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) said its electric vehicle (EV) unit began mass production of the Hengchi 5 model on Friday at a factory in the northern city of Tianjin. from the country.

Delivery of the first electric car model unveiled last year by China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd (0708.HK) will begin in October, Evergrande Group said in a statement.

Evergrande will begin mass production of its second electric vehicle model in the first half of 2023 and a third in the second half of next year, he added.

The EV unit is essential for Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer that has been rocked by more than $300 billion in debt.

Chairman Hui Ka Yan has pledged to shift the group’s core business from real estate to automobiles within 10 years, which itself has struggled to raise capital.

The company previously said it was aiming to manufacture 1 million vehicles a year by 2025.

It began taking non-binding pre-orders for the Hengchi 5 sport utility vehicle priced at 179,000 yuan ($25,531.31) in July after delaying mass production from June to the third quarter.

($1 = 7.0110 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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