(Yicai Global) June 29 -- Shares in Zhejiang Founder Motor reached their highest level since December last year after the supplier of electric motors to new energy vehicle makers announced it will build a new production line that will triple current output to help meet booming demand.

Founder Motor’s stock price [SHE:002196] was trading down 0.91 percent at CNY8.72 (USD1.35) at 1:30 p.m. today as investors cashed in. Earlier in the day it had scaled to CNY9.38.

Costing CNY500 million (USD77.4 million), the new plant will produce one million motors a year, Founder Motor said yesterday. The company’s current annual output is 350,000 motors and this should reach 500,000 units by the end of this year as some production lines under construction are put into operation, it said.

The new production line, to be based in Lishui, eastern Zhejiang province, should bring in an additional CNY2.5 billion (USD387 million) in revenue each year, Founder Motor said. Built in two stages, the first phase should be up and running by the end of 2022 with a capacity of 350,000 units, it said. The second phase should be ready by the end of 2023.

Founder Motor, which counts big names such as Nio, Xpeng Motors and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile among its clients, makes the motors for electric cars which, along with the battery and electronic control system, is a core component that determines the main performance indices of the vehicle.

Editor: Kim Taylor