China’s Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group has announced that it would begin accepting orders for its first electric vehicle, the Hengchi 5 sport utility vehicle, “imminently” and will open sales centers in 15 major cities around the country.
According to the firm’s official Wechat account, Liu Yongzhuo, president of the electric vehicle (EV) unit of the world’s most indebted property developer China Evergrande Group, made the comment at an online conference attended by almost 200 worldwide parts suppliers on Sunday. The firm’s social media post did not specify when it will begin accepting orders.
The plan comes as the electric vehicle company struggles to find outside funding. Evergrande said on a conference call with investors last week that it was seeking to entice investors to help shore up the unit’s finances, an aim it has been pursuing for months without much success.
Evergrande New Energy Vehicle said in November that it was in talks with possible purchasers to sell some assets and was also talking to investors about funding.
After receiving approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to begin sales earlier this month, Evergrande chairman Hui Ka Yan indicated during an internal meeting last week that the EV company will begin mass production on June 22.
The sales centers will be positioned in locations such as Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, according to the EV company’s Wechat post.