(Yicai Global) May 31 -- China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, the electric car unit of embattled property developer China Evergrande Group, has resumed production at its plant in Tianjin after a one-month suspension due to a lack of funds, which remains an issue for the company.

The Tianjin factory got back to work making the Hengchi 5 on May 23, the Guangzhou-based firm said in a statement on its official WeChat account yesterday. It announced a stoppage at the plant on April 24 due to insufficient funds.

Shan Zhefeng, governor of Tianjin’s Binhai New Area and deputy secretary of the local party committee, visited the plant on May 29, Evergrande NEV added, noting that Shan expressed full support for the carmaker’s development and expansion, which would stimulate the vitality of the NEV sector.

But having resumed production does not mean that Evergrande NEV has solved its funding issues.

According to data on corporate information platform Tianyancha, courts have ordered Evergrande NEV’s units in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Henan province, and Jiangsu province to settle outstanding payments of CNY855 million (USD120.3 million), CNY28 million (USD3.9 million), CNY16.6 million, and CNY58.9 million, respectively, as of yesterday.

Evergrande NEV recently transferred a series of property projects to its parent company to focus on its NEV business, but was still unable to return to the black.

Leading Chinese auto startups are also unprofitable. Xpeng Motors delivered 18,200 cars in the first quarter, but its net loss expanded 37.4 percent to CNY2.3 billion (USD323.7 million) in the period from a year earlier.

Editor: Futura Costaglione