Jan 8 (Reuters) - China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group said on Monday an executive director Liu Yongzhuo, who is the firm's vice chairman, has been detained on suspicion of "illegal crimes" but did not elaborate further.

The electric vehicle arm of the embattled property developer China Evergrande Group added its shares will resume trading from 1 p.m. (0500 GMT).

The shares were suspended from trading in the morning session, pending a statement from the company.

The stock plunged 18.6% in the first week of 2024 after it said last Monday that plans for it to sell shares to U.S.-listed NWTN had been scrapped.

Hui Ka Yan, chairman and founder of parent Evergrande Group, the most indebted property developer in the world, has also been under investigation for suspected crimes, according to a filing in late September.

(Reporting by Donny Kwok and Clare Jim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)