Evergrande has launched mass production of its first electric vehicle, the Hengchi 5 compact crossover

Home » Economy » Evergrande launched mass production of its first electric vehicle, the Hengchi compact crossover 5 January 15, 2022

On Wednesday, the first electric car rolled off the assembly line from Chinese company Evergrande, best known for its property work. The company’s first production all-electric crossover, called the Hengchi 5, was built 12 days ahead of schedule, a milestone for Evergrande.

Image source: Costfoto/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

Reuters reports that Evergrande’s electric vehicle division launched mass production last month. The company is launching electric cars as part of efforts to deal with $300 billion in debt, according to S&P Global and Fitch Ratings. Evergrande is in default and the Chinese government has stepped in to help the company restructure.

In October, CEO Hui Ka Yan said Evergrande wants to make electric vehicles its core business within ten years. The Chinese company has introduced several electric vehicle models, but Hengchi 5 is the only one that has entered mass production. According to the South China Morning Post, the electric car has a range of around 700 kilometers. Its price starts at $31,450.

Evergrande has bold ambitions for its automotive business. In August 2020, the company announced that it wanted to become “the largest and most powerful manufacturer of renewable energy vehicles in the world” within three to five years. Later that year, plans were announced to deliver 1 million electric vehicles a year by 2025 and 5 million by 2035. By comparison, Tesla, the largest electric vehicle maker, shipped around 936 000 vehicles in 2021.

China is the world’s largest electric vehicle market, but Evergrande is entering a highly competitive arena, with both well-established international brands like Tesla and strong local companies like BYD, Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto.

Analysts believe that if Hengchi 5 sells well, it will be a ray of hope for Evergrande, which has been struggling for a few months to stay afloat.

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