Meet the Chinese property developer that reckons it can take on Tesla

A Chinese property developer known for its investments in everything from soccer clubs to spring water companies is taking on Elon Musk in the electric vehicle (EV) arena, declaring it can be the biggest manufacturer in the world within three to five years.

China Evergrande Group, the country’s second largest property developer, has been moving further away from its real estate roots for years, but this may be its boldest departure yet. The firm said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that it plans to start selling EVs “soon”.

“Evergrande has positioned across the electric-vehicle industry chain and is now armed with advanced technology,” chairman Hui Ka-yan was cited by the company as telling a supply chain conference held by the group in Tianjin on Saturday. “Evergrande will strive to become the world’s biggest, and the strongest, electric vehicle group within three to five years.”

Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, has been churning out EVs for years and has only recently been able to make a profit. Besides Tesla, Evergrande will come up against all the world’s major carmakers, which are ploughing tens of billions of dollars into EV production and research.

Tesla’s latest Model Y crossover, unveiled earlier this month, has rekindled concerns about the US company’s cash position and analysts are sceptical of executives’ claims they can service debt obligations.

Nissan Motor, meanwhile, unveiled a new version of its Leaf plug-in electric car in January, while Daimler in December announced plans to buy US$23 billion worth of battery cells by 2030 to bring electric and hybrid vehicles to market.