The Chinese real estate giant Evergrande dominates the financial sections around the world these days. With its astronomical mountain of debt, the company threatens to pull China into a crisis. But in addition to a lot of real estate, Evergrande also builds electric cars under the name Hengchi. In addition, it took over Saab’s bankrupt estate in 2012, from which NEVS arose, which again acquired an interest in Koenigsegg.
The name Hengchi may not immediately ring a bell with us, but if it is up to the Chinese, Elon Musk has sleepless nights. Hengchi is the car brand of Evergrande, the real estate giant that is on the verge of collapse with a debt burden of 250 billion euros. Although Evergrande’s executives have other things on their mind right now, barely a year ago they unveiled their five-year plan at the end of which they would become the world’s largest producer of electric cars. To reinforce that ambition, Hengchi immediately unveiled a range of six brand new models, which can serve all common segments. The first Hengchis should be on the road by the end of this year and the factories in Shanghai and Guangshou had started up.
Still, Evergrande is not entirely green in the automotive industry. In 2012, it took over the estate of the bankrupt Saab, from which NEVS arose. In January 2019, this resulted in a twenty percent interest in the Swedish Koenigsegg. However, it is very doubtful whether Hengchi will be able to realize the high ambitions even a little bit. Evergrande is no longer able to pay the interest and employees and contractors can also whistle for their money for the time being, as a result of which many hundreds of construction projects have come to a standstill. The car factory in Guangshou has also been abandoned, NOS reported earlier this week, and the headquarters is being protected by police from angry employees and creditors.
Musk can sleep peacefully again. But maybe not for long, as financial analysts fear the eventual collapse of Evergrande could push not only China, but the rest of the world into a crisis as well.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl