LeEco founder's electric car undergoes winter testing

LeEco founder Jia Yueting has set out a series of new photos on his Sina Weibo account showing a red-colored model of Faraday Future's new electric vehicle, the flagship FF91, undergoing winter testing in the northern US state of Minnesota.

This is a screenshot of Faraday Future's new electric vehicle, the flagship FF91, undergoing winter testing in Minnesota. The photo has been posted by LeEco founder Jia Yueting on his Sina Weibo account, March 12, 2018. [Screenshot: Weibo.com]

The fully-electric vehicle is expected to be delivered to customers by the end of this year, with a price tag said to be around 2-million yuan (310,000 USD).

Unveiled a year ago, the FF91 prototype has been undergoing development issues due to the LeEco founder's financial woes.

Jia Yueting is the largest investor in Faraday Future.

LeEco founder Jia Yueting, center, poses with Nick Sampson, Faraday Future's senior vice president of product research & development, right, and Richard Kim, vice president of design, after unveiling the FF91 electric vehicle at the CES International on January 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. [File Photo: IC]

However, reports in February suggested Faraday Future was able to secure a 1.5 billion US dollar investment to keep the new electric vehicle project going.

Jia was ordered by Chinese authorities to return to China by the end of last year to deal with LeEco's estimated 7.3 million US dollars' worth of unpaid debts.

However, Jia has ignored the order, saying he needs to stay in the United States to focus on his new electric vehicle production, with his wife and brother being authorized to sort out his debt.