China Evergrande Group said its electric vehicle (EV) unit started mass production on Friday of the Hengchi 5 model at a plant in the northern city of Tianjin, reports Nikkei Asia. Delivery of the first electric car model unveiled last year by China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group will start in October, Evergrande Group said in a statement.
Evergrande will start mass production of its second EV model in the first half of 2023 and a third one in the latter half of next year, it added. The EV unit is key for Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer that has been reeling under more than $300 billion worth of liabilities.
Chairman Hui Ka Yan has vowed to shift within 10 years the group’s primary business from real estate to the automobile venture, which has itself struggled for capital. The company previously said it aimed to make 1 million vehicles a year by 2025.