On September 30, media reported that Shanzi High-Tech Co., Ltd. officially took over Hozon New Energy and planned to enter and assume operations this month. In addition, the report stated that the company has set a “military order” goal of achieving annual sales of 200,000 units by 2027. As of press time, the company has not officially responded to the news.
It is worth noting that as early as mid-September, there were already reports that Shanzi High-Tech was advancing restructuring matters with Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., the parent company of Neta Auto. According to those reports, Hozon New Energy staff would complete handover and clearance after October 1, after which Shanzi High-Tech’s team would officially take over. At that time, Hozon’s administrator told the media they had not yet received substantive materials indicating Shanzi’s participation. Shanzi High-Tech responded that it was indeed interested in participating in the restructuring and was one of the intended investors. Whether it could ultimately become the enterprise to restructure Neta Auto still depended on an official announcement.
According to records, Shanzi High-Tech was founded in August 1998, formerly known as YinYi Co., a real estate giant based in Ningbo. In 2016, it announced its cross-industry entry into the auto parts sector. By 2019, it went bankrupt and entered restructuring. The following year, YinYi was revived through a “capital reserve to share capital + debt-to-equity swap” model. In January 2023, YinYi was officially renamed “Shanzi High-Tech Co., Ltd.” In the same year, Shanzi acquired 90% equity of Xingtai Longgang Investment Development Co., Ltd. from Xingtai Xinde Industrial Development Co., Ltd. through a delisting transfer, thereby obtaining automobile manufacturing qualifications. In July last year, Shanzi’s first mass-production vehicle, the Yunfeng Auto KS01, rolled off the production line.
On September 27, Hozon New Energy’s administrator stated that as of the deadline for registering as an intended restructuring investor, one investor had submitted a complete registration package and paid a 50 million yuan deposit. Media outlets revealed that Shanzi High-Tech was the only officially registered intended restructuring investor. Of course, whether Shanzi will ultimately take over Hozon New Energy remains to be confirmed by an official announcement.
Hozon New Energy was founded in October 2014, with Fang Yunzhu as its legal representative. Neta Auto, established in 2014, is a brand under Hozon. As one of China’s new EV startups, Neta rose to prominence with its slogan of “cars for the people,” launching a series of affordable models and briefly becoming a “dark horse” in the industry. In 2022, Neta ranked first in domestic new energy vehicle sales with 152,100 units sold. However, this peak was short-lived. With intensifying competition in China’s EV market and aggressive price wars, Neta’s price advantages diminished. Starting in 2023, its sales began to decline.
Data shows that Neta’s cumulative sales in 2023 were 127,500 units, down 16% year-on-year from 2022. Last year, a series of negative developments further hit its performance, with annual sales plunging to just 64,549 units, nearly halved compared to the previous year—a 49.37% drop. The sharp decline pushed Neta into serious operational trouble. In May this year, Hozon, Neta’s parent company, was filed for bankruptcy, and Neta itself fell into suspension of production and operations.
It remains uncertain whether Shanzi High-Tech will ultimately take over Neta Auto. But given Neta’s current predicament, reviving it will not be easy. According to data, as of the end of August this year, Hozon and its affiliates still owed more than 5,000 employees around 460 million yuan in unpaid wages, severance, and related compensation. A total of 1,631 creditors have filed claims with the court, with declared debts exceeding 26 billion yuan. Of these, 1,340 claims totaling about 5.1 billion yuan have been reviewed and confirmed. Public data also shows that Shanzi High-Tech’s financial performance in recent years has been far from ideal, with net losses attributable to shareholders totaling nearly 4.8 billion yuan between 2022 and 2024. In this context, taking on the challenge of reviving Neta Auto while already facing its own financial difficulties remains highly challenging.
