BEIJING (Reuters) - LeEco, the Chinese company looking to rival Tesla with its own electric car, said on Wednesday it would invest 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) to build an electric car plant in eastern China with eventual annual production capacity of 400,000 cars.

The company said in a statement its first China factory would be built in two phases in Deqing county near the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Non-automakers and start-ups have rushed to begin making electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles as China's central government liberalizes the industry to promote a switch to electricity as an ultimate replacement for petrol to fuel cars.

LeEco's production facility will be part of a larger project to build an "Eco Experience Park" that will cost 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) in total that will also include an entertainment park, facilities for internet-connected electric cars and offices, the statement said.

The company did not say when it planned to complete the factory.

LeEco also plans to produce cars at a plant being built near Las Vegas by U.S. strategic partner Faraday Future, in which LeEco founder Jia Yueting has invested.

LeEco unveiled an electric concept car in April that has an autonomous mode. Called the LeSEE, the car is meant to be part of a fleet that you can summon on command.

(Reporting by Jake Spring and Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong; Danielle Muoio contributed to this report.)