Shanghai (ZXZC)- On May 31, Evergrande Auto set up a Shanghai-based subsidiary that focuses on the development of intelligence, automobile, network, and computer technologies, as part of efforts to consolidate its technology strengths for car-building aspiration.

Photo credit: Hengchi

According to the business data provider Tianyancha, the newly-registered company is dubbed Evergrande Hengchi Intelligence Technology (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. Involving a registered capital of 100 million yuan ($15.689 million), it is indirectly wholly controlled by Evergrande New Energy Automobile Investment Holdings Group Co., Ltd.

Evergrande Auto revealed in March the company had already plowed 47.4 billion yuan ($7.437 billion) into new energy vehicle (NEV) business, around 24.9 billion yuan ($3.907 billion) of which were poured into technology R&D, design and acquisition.

The company said it plans to put its in-house developed power batteries into mass production in the second half of 2021. In addition, Evergrande Auto signed on March 15 an agreement with TINNOVE, a Tencent-backed IoV (Internet of Vehicles) technology developer, to build a joint venture dedicated to the development of in-car smart OS (operating system) with independent intellectual property rights. The H-SMART OS, an intelligent-connected system Evergrande Auto co-developed with Tencent and Baidu, was also unveiled in March.

As of May 12, 2021, Evergrande Auto had applied for a total of 3,012 patents, 1,355 of which had been granted patents, according to the company's announcement. These patents cover core areas including pure electric chassis architecture, suspension system, steering control, brake control, vehicle control, thermal management system, batteries, battery modules, battery packs, battery management system, motors and electronic control, electronic and electrical architecture, body of vehicles and interior and exterior trim, Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving, manufacturing and smart charging.