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On December 20, Evergrande issued a seasonal information update notice saying that the new energy vehicle Hengchi 5, independently developed by China Evergrande New Energy Automobile Group Co., Ltd., was officially mass produced on September 16 this year. The first batch of mass production cars began to be delivered on October 29, 2022. As of December 7, 2022, more than 100 vehicles have been delivered.

Relevant data show that Hengchi is an automobile brand under Evergrande New Energy, while Hengchi 5 is the first production car of Hengchi. The new car is positioned as a compact SUV with 4725/1925/1676mm in length, width and height and 2780mm in wheelbase. The new car goes on sale on July 6, with the deluxe version priced at 179000 yuan. In terms of power, the model is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor developed by Bosch, with a maximum power of 150kw, a peak torque of 345N ·m and a zero acceleration time of 7.8s. In terms of range, it uses lithium iron phosphate battery from Ningde era with a mileage of 602 km under comprehensive operating conditions. The new car went off the line at the Tianjin factory on September 16, and on October 29, Hengchi 5 opened delivery, with the first batch of 100 units delivered.

In order to improve the sales volume of Hengchi 5, Evergrande has also done a lot of marketing measures. for example: owners' internal quality evaluation meeting, authorized agents to recruit, recommend car purchase to win commission, hold tour exhibitions, encourage employees to actively participate in Hengchi 5 sales, distribute Hengchi 5 sales assessment indicators, and so on.

In addition, as the parent company Evergrande Group is mired in a debt crisis in recent years, in order to allay consumers' concerns about Hengchi 5, Evergrande has introduced that the car should be paid only when it is delivered, and the car can be returned and refunded within 15 days after picking up the car. At the same time, it said that the car purchase money is not transferred to the Evergrande account, but is a special account of the notary office. Additional vehicles can also enjoy a three-year 40% discount guaranteed buyback policy. I have to say, this policy is still very attractive, but from the first delivery of 100 vehicles, the market still has concerns about Hengchi.

Earlier, Hengchi had planned to complete the delivery of the first batch of 10,000 vehicles by the first quarter of next year and speed up the R & D and production of other models. In addition, Hengchi 6 will be offline at the end of this year and mass production in the first half of next year; Hengchi 7 will be offline in the first half of next year and mass production in the second half of next year, while speeding up the R & D progress of Hengchi 1 and Hengchi 3. However, from the current Evergrande has been exposed layoffs, holidays and other rumors, or want to achieve the delivery target of 10,000 vehicles is difficult.

At the end of November, there were media reports that Evergrande's Tianjin plant was laying off staff, with plans to cut 60% of its staff. Some employees have been interviewed internally, and some of them will go on leave. In early December, it was rumored that Evergrande New Energy employees would usher in an extra-long holiday spanning the entire Spring Festival, totaling 90 days. According to the pictures and shows from the network, Evergrande Hengchi New Energy Automotive Technology (Guangdong) issued a stay notice, saying that due to the impact of COVID-19 's epidemic and serious operational difficulties in the group and the company, there is an urgent need for management optimization and adjustment. Because your position is temporarily out of work for a certain period of time, it is suspended and retained. The suspension period is from December 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023, for a period of three months, which will be adjusted and informed according to the work situation. During this period, if you establish labor relations with other units, you must submit a written resignation application at least 3 working days in advance, otherwise it will be regarded as automatic contact with the company.

In response to these news, Gao Jingshen, chief executive of Hengchi Automobile, said that the company does not have the so-called "shutdown affected by external factors" as portrayed by individual media. At present, Evergrande Tianjin factory still has more than 1100 production technicians in production, ensuring that Hengchi 5 is delivered to car owners one after another.

Of course, the financial crisis is a difficult problem that Evergrande can not avoid all the time, which is also related to the mass production and delivery of Evergrande's follow-up products. By the end of June 2021, its total debt had reached 1.97 trillion. In addition, it had more than 4000 billion yuan in debt payable, including commercial bills issued to suppliers, and Evergrande's total debt had reached 2.5 trillion yuan. In March 2021, Evergrande said at its 2020 performance conference that the company had invested a total of 47.4 billion yuan in the new energy vehicle industry, including 24.9 billion yuan in vehicle R & D and design, and 22.5 billion yuan in the construction of a car plant. if you include the sales and administrative expenses in the first half of 2021, Evergrande has spent more than 50 billion yuan on new energy vehicle business. According to the semi-annual report, Evergrande posted a net loss of 4.821 billion yuan in the first half of 2021, up 96.25% from 2.456 billion yuan in the same period last year.

Although Evergrande is still losing money for years, it still plays the role of "savior". Under the background of the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the new energy vehicle industry has also become a "lifesaver" for Evergrande, which must be grasped. Although Hengchi 5 has achieved the first batch of delivery, but the follow-up still need to invest a lot of money, and the whole Evergrande department is the most lack of funds. If the sales of Hengchi 5 can not quickly improve the hematopoietic function, it will further aggravate the financial crisis of Evergrande.

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