Evergrande Health pays US$930 million to buy control of carmaker in its foray into mass production of electric vehicles in China

Evergrande’s unit will pay US$930 million for 51 per cent of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which is a consortium owned by Tianjin’s government and a state think tank

NEVS is one of 10 Chinese carmakers whose models meet the standards for mass production in China

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An exterior of China Evergrande Centre in Hong Kong on March 26, 2018. Photo: REUTERS

Published: 8:44pm, 15 Jan 2019Updated: 10:25am, 16 Jan 2019

Evergrande Group, China’s third-largest property developer by sales, has bought control of a producer of electric vehicles in the country, bolstering its founder’s ambition to diversify from real estate into the emerging industry of next-generation automobiles.

The developer will use its subsidiary Evergrande Health Industry Group to pay US$930 million for 51 per cent of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, where it is listed. Evergrande Health has paid first instalment of US$430 million on Tuesday, while the remainder of the transaction will be completed by the end of January, according to the statement.

The purchase gives Evergrande’s founder Hui Ka-yan – also known as Xu Jiayin on the mainland – an extension on his foray into electric vehicles (EVs). Evergrande Health already owns 32 per cent of Faraday Future, after a US$2 billion investment in the electric carmaker founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting.

NEVS itself is a Chinese consortium owned by Tianjin’s municipal government and a research outfit of the Chinese cabinet’s think tank and the country’s second-largest phone company Unicom.

NEVS, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2014, had tried to buy control of the iconic Swedish vehicle marque Saab Automobile two years earlier. The initial purchase would have licensed NEVS to use the Saab brand and its griffin logo on vehicles assembled in China.

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Evergrande Health pays US$930 million to buy control of carmaker in its foray into mass production of electric vehicles in China

Evergrande’s unit will pay US$930 million for 51 per cent of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which is a consortium owned by Tianjin’s government and a state think tank NEVS is one of 10 Chinese carmakers whose models meet the standards for mass production in China

Evergrande’s unit will pay US$930 million for 51 per cent of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which is a consortium owned by Tianjin’s government and a state think tank

NEVS is one of 10 Chinese carmakers whose models meet the standards for mass production in China