Evergrande's EV arm raised HK$30bn on a 1-million-car promise, then built about 1,700

China Evergrande's health-and-wellness unit had reached the Hong Kong market by acquiring a listed shell in 2015. In 2019 the property giant redirected that listed vehicle into electric vehicles, unveiling the Hengchi brand and a plan to spend 45 billion yuan over three years building 10 global manufacturing bases and reaching 1 million units of annual production within three to five years — before it had sold a single car.

The pivot raised real money on the strength of that promise. Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Yunfeng Fund and Didi Chuxing put in HK$4 billion in September 2020; four months later, on January 24, 2021, six more investors bought a further HK$26 billion (about $3.35 billion) of shares at HK$27.3 each, and the unit was renamed China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group. Fourteen Hengchi models were announced; six reached the launch stage.

Production never caught up with the capital. By 2023 the company had built only about 1,700 cars and reported a 12 billion yuan loss for the year alone, on top of tens of billions more lost since the 2019 pivot. Its Tianjin plant halted production entirely in early 2024, and a local authority ordered it to refund roughly 1.9 billion yuan ($262 million) in state subsidies after it failed to meet the production, sales and headquarters commitments those subsidies were tied to.

China Evergrande Group's broader collapse pulled the EV unit down with it. Trading in Evergrande NEV shares was suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 1, 2025 after it missed its filing deadline, with a compliance deadline of September 30, 2026 before automatic delisting; creditors including Zhejiang Chint Electrics separately filed to liquidate operating subsidiaries over unpaid debts.