UAE’s NWTN Motors acquires strategic stake in Chinese EV company: Dubai-based green mobility company NWTN Motors will acquire a 27.5% stake in EV manufacturer China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (EVGRF) at an equity investment of USD 500 mn, according to a statement. The transaction — expected to close in 4Q 2023 — will provide a lifeline for the Chinese automaker, who in its first financial report in two years, last month reported losses of USD 10 bn over 2021 and 2022.

The details: The share subscription agreement — which saw NWTN snap up 6.18 bn of Evergrande’s shares — will enable the UAE company to nominate a majority of the Chinese company’s board, Reuters reports. In a bid to aid EVGRF’s business recovery, NWTN and EVGRF also signed a support agreement for interest-free funding of RMB 600 mn (c.USD 82.4 mn) to boost the company’s production and R&D capacity, the newswire notes. The agreement is expected to be finalized following effective debt restructuring of EVGRF, confirmation of a debt repayment plan by the company’s creditors, and submission of regulatory and shareholder approvals.

NWTN will leverage the agreement to boost EV exports to MENA: EVGRF has rolled out nine EV models to date since launching in 2019, with its first mass-produced EV Hengchi5 hitting markets in 2022. NWTN will capitalize on EVGRF’s research and development and production capacity to meet MENA’s EV demands, the statement notes.

NWTN has been making moves to step up EV production: The company inked an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development in July to establish a new integrated electric vehicle production line in the UAE and expand its EV factory in Abu Dhabi. In its initial phase, NWTN’s EV plant will have an annual production capacity of 5-10k semi-knocked-down EVs. In its second phase, NWTN wants to introduce several new EV models and expand the 25k sqm facility’s capacity to 50k units per year.