(Bloomberg) -- Evergrande Health aims to have production capacity of up to 1 million vehicles within three years as part of its efforts to become the world's largest electric car manufacturer, starting with a "pure battery" electric vehicle in June.
The China Evergrande Group unit said in a statement Friday that production of its electric car "for the masses" would start at its Tianjin plant. Its description as a pure EV suggests the new car won't be a hybrid.
The property-focused conglomerate has begun planning for new production bases in Shanghai and Guangzhou that will push potential output to between 500,000 and 1 million vehicles, according to the statement.
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Evergrande is the latest company looking to take on Tesla Inc. It has already spent more than $1.1 billion this year on an array of electric vehicle-related companies as part of its push into the EV market.
Evergrande Health's first electric car will use Saab's "Phoenix" platform as part of a vehicle lineup to be developed that will range from mid-price to luxurious, according to the statement. Evergrande Health moved to buy National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, the owner of Saab Automobile assets, in January.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: April Ma in Beijing at ama112@bloomberg.net;Emma Dong in Shanghai at edong10@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Frost at rfrost4@bloomberg.net, Paul Jackson, Colin Keatinge
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