Beijing (ZXZC)- Evergrande Auto, the new energy vehicle (NEV) firm of Chinese property giant China Evergrande Group, signed an agreement with share replacement agent on November 9 to place 174,830,000 shares, the company said in a statement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

At HK$2.86 each share, which is 19.89% cheaper than the company’s closing price of HK$3.57 on November 9 on the Hong Kong stock market, those new shares are expected to bring HK$500 million to the company.

The proceeds will be used for the development and production of the group’s NEVs and offer financial support for the production of Hengchi models, the company added in the statement. By now, none of the nine models under its Hengchi brand has been put into mass production.

Hengchi 5 in hot weather testing; photo credit: Hengchi

The Hengchi 5LX was listed on the 350th batch of vehicle manufacturer and product announcements from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. That means sales of the model may start soon.

Last month, Liu Yongzhuo, president of Evergrande Auto, revealed at the company’s strategy partners conference, that the Hengchi 5, the company’s first mass-produced model, will roll off the assembly line in early 2022.