Struggling Hozon Auto subject to bankruptcy review

GlobalData

Tue, May 20, 2025, 5:38 AM 2 min read

China’s Hozon New Energy Automobile, the manufacturer of Neta-branded battery electric vehicles (BEVs), is the subject of a bankruptcy review case filed by a local advertising company, according to a notification on the country’s National Enterprise Bankruptcy Information Disclosure Platform.

As the news spread rapidly across the local media, the struggling automaker has been forced to deny growing speculation that it had itself filed for bankruptcy. A spokesperson confirmed that the company has “not filed for bankruptcy or taken any such related steps internally.”

The bankruptcy review case was filed by Shanghai Yuxing Advertising Company and is being handled by a court in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

Hozon has been struggling for many months to make payments to its suppliers and in March 2025 it hosted a supplier conference focused on debt restructuring. The automaker subsequently revealed that it had reached debt-to-equity agreements with 134 core suppliers, including key battery manufacturers CATL and Gotion High-Tech, worth more than CNY 2 billion (US$ 278 million) – according to local reports.

Hozon has also been struggling to pay wage arrears for months and has been laying off workers since October. The company sold around 100,000 vehicles globally last year, but deliveries plunged by 80%-90% in the first quarter of 2025.

An official at Hozon confirmed to local reporters: “An advertising agency has exercised its legal right to file a bankruptcy review against Hozon Auto,” without providing further details.

The company has also denied rumours that it has been the subject of takeover interest from other automakers, including Toyota Motor Corporation, which the Japanese automaker has also denied.

Neta aims to raise CNY4 billion in a Series E fundraiser, aiming to raise about CNY4 billion to CNY4.5 billion (USD550 million to USD624.4 million), with the leading investor expected to provide up to CNY3bn of the funding.

"Struggling Hozon Auto subject to bankruptcy review" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.

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