(Yicai Global) Sept. 16 -- The electric vehicle unit of China Evergrande Group, a troubled property developer, has started mass-producing its No. 1 model, Hengchi 5, with expected first deliveries next month.

China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group's class-A sport utility vehicle model entered mass production in Tianjin today after nearly four years of development, the Shenzhen-based real estate parent said in a statement on its website today.

Large-scale production was supposed to start in June but Evergrande NEV said in May that a delay of three months will take place due to Covid-19 outbreaks. The company's parent was labeled a defaulter for the first time in December by Fitch Ratings.

Pre-sales of Hengchi 5 began in July and orders exceeded 37,000 units in less than 15 days. The vehicle sells for CNY179,000 (USD25,703).

Trading of Evergrande NEV's shares has been suspended since April 1 amid delayed financial reporting. Evergrande Property Services Group, another subsidiary of Evergrande, discovered that a bank had taken around CNY13.4 billion (USD1.9 billion) of its deposits that had been used as pledge guarantees, causing Evergrande NEV to fail to issue its 2021 earnings report.

Evergrande NEV is already planning on launching other models as Hengchi 6 will roll off the production line by December, and is expected to be mass-produced by June 2023. The schedule for Hengchi 7 involves large-scale production from the second half of 2023. Moreover, the firm will accelerate the development of Hengchi 1 and Hengchi 3, Evergrande added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi