Evergrande New Energy Automotive Group, the electric vehicle arm of leading Chinese real estate developer Evergrande Group, has signed up five global auto engineering companies to help steer product development.
The unit signed strategic agreements with three German companies -- FEV Group, EDAG Engineering Group and IAV Group -- as well as Austria's AVL Group and Canada’s Magna International on Wednesday in the south China city of Shenzhen, where Evergrande Group is headquartered.
The engineering companies will help Evergrande New Energy Automotive design and develop 15 EV models, including full-size and midsize vehicles, Evergrande Group said.
After venturing into the EV market in 2018, Evergrande Group has moved quickly to strike deals with European auto companies to build up its EV development capabilities.
Last year, it partnered with Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive, German engineering firm Hofer and parts supplier Benteler Group to develop EV technologies.
This year, it acquired several European companies: National Electric Vehicle Sweden, a Swedish company that bought assets of bankrupt Saab Automobile in 2012 to build EVs on the Saab 9-3 platform; U.K. electric motor maker Protean Holdings Corp. and Dutch electric motor manufacturer e-Traction.
Evergrande Group has signed agreements with local governments to build two major EV factories in the south city of Guangzhou and northeast city of Shenyang.
This month at the Frankfurt auto show, the Chinese group disclosed plans to recruit 8,000 experts and specialists worldwide for the EV unit.
It seeks to become “a global powerhouse” for new energy vehicle engineering and production over the next three to five years by increasing EV output and sales to 5 million within 10 years, Evergrande Group said in a statement.
