Evergrande's Swedish Electric Vehicle Unit On the Block, Says CEO

The Swedish electric vehicle unit of China Evergrande Group is in talks with US and European venture capital firms and industrial partners to find new owners, its top chief said, as its Chinese parent battles default on more than $300 billion in debts, Helena Soderpalm and Krystal Hu reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: A Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept car is displayed during the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada

National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), owned by the cash-strapped Chinese property developer, has funds to last "for a good while," its Chief Executive Stefan Tilk said, adding that several investors were showing interest in the firm.

He declined to comment on a possible valuation. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters the unit could be valued at as much as $1 billion.

Evergrande has already missed three rounds of interest payments on its international bonds and has been scrambling to sell some of its assets to raise cash. A firm backed by Beijing also squashed a plan to buy Evergrande’s headquarters and other assets for $1.7 billion.

The Chinese property developer has spent billions of dollars on stakes in automobile technology developers, including NEVS. It also has joint ventures with Germany's Hofer and Sweden's Koenigsegg.

NEVS, which received an electric vehicle production license in China four years ago, is the Swedish arm of Evergrande's EV unit Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

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