Evergrande NEV suspends production due to lack of orders
Evergrande New Energy Vehicle, the electric car division of the Chinese real estate group Evergrande, has apparently suspended series production of its only model, the Hengchi 5, due to a lack of new orders.
This is according to a report by Reuters. The news agency bases its report on statements by two insiders. According to the report, there is apparently a lack of new orders after the first 100 units of the Hengchi 5 were delivered in October. According to the sources, Evergrande NEV has currently suspended production – for how long is still unclear.
According to Reuters, the two insiders also said that many employees had not yet received salaries for October and November. The company is said to be planning layoffs and the suspension of salary payments. Evergrande did not respond to a request for comment, according to the news agency.
The electric car division of the heavily indebted real estate group has been repeatedly considered a takeover candidate for several years. Recently, however, confidence seemed to return with the start of series production of the Hengchi 5 in September and the Hengchi 6 announced for the second half of 2023. The year was anything but steady: Evergrande had already announced the start of production of the Hengchi 5 in January 2022. However, only 200 units of the electric SUV were subsequently built within half a year.
Evergrande NEV started pre-sales of the Hengchi 5 in July 2022. In mid-August, rumours were again abound about ongoing financial difficulties and a possible takeover of Evergrande NEV by another carmaker, which Evergrande later denied. Now there is another hint that production will be interrupted due to lack of demand. This cut comes at a time of economic downturn in China and intensifying competition among electric car manufacturers.
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