According to the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganization Case Information Network, a bankruptcy review case has been filed for Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., Zhonglian Tianxia Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd., and Nezha Hezhi (Shanghai) Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. The petitioners are three individuals, and the case is being handled by the People’s Court of Tongxiang City, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. Hozon New Energy fully owns Zhonglian Tianxia and indirectly controls Nezha Hezhi.
Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. was founded in October 2014, with Fang Yunzhou as the legal representative and a registered capital of approximately 2.837 billion RMB. Its business scope includes the design, development, production, sales, and related consulting services for new energy vehicles and their components. It is jointly owned by Nanning Minsheng New Energy Industry Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Beijing Huading New Power Equity Investment Fund (Limited Partnership), and Yichun Jinhe Equity Investment Co., Ltd. Zhonglian Tianxia Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. was founded in June 2018 with a registered capital of 2 billion RMB, fully controlled by Hozon New Energy. Nezha Hezhi (Shanghai) Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. was founded in September 2021, also with a registered capital of 2 billion RMB, and is wholly owned by Zhonglian Tianxia.
Nezha Auto was once a highly regarded new energy brand in China. In 2022, it surpassed Li Auto, Xpeng, and other new energy brands with an annual sales volume of 152,000 vehicles, claiming the title of the new force sales champion and becoming a “dark horse” in the automotive industry. However, since 2023, Nezha Auto’s sales began to decline, with 127,500 vehicles sold throughout the year, a 16% decrease compared to the previous year. Since the second half of 2024, the company faced severe operational challenges, including factory shutdowns, unpaid salaries, layoffs, and arrears to suppliers. It took less than two years for the company to go from top sales to a deep crisis. In May of this year, Hozon New Energy was filed for bankruptcy reorganization by Shanghai Yuxing Advertising Co., Ltd.
On September 12, the first creditors’ meeting of the bankruptcy reorganization case of Hozon New Energy (referred to as “Hozon New Energy”) was held online. The court-appointed administrator disclosed that as of August 31, a total of 1,631 creditors (excluding employee claims) had filed claims amounting to 26.58 billion RMB. The administrator has completed the review of claims from 1,340 creditors, confirming a total claim amount of 5.18 billion RMB.
In addition to the above creditors, as of August 2025, Hozon New Energy and its affiliated companies still owe approximately 460 million RMB in wages, economic compensation, subsidies, reimbursement payments, and social insurance to over 5,000 employees. The administrator also revealed that the debtor’s bank account had a cash balance of approximately 15.46 million RMB, including 420,000 RMB in acceptance guarantee deposits, and 15 million RMB in bank deposits. Hozon New Energy still has around 9.3 billion RMB in accounts receivable.
The meeting also disclosed that to maintain the normal operations of Nezha Auto, the administrator is negotiating with suppliers to keep the vehicle and infotainment services running. Meanwhile, due to the delay in salary payments for many employees for up to six months, resulting in talent loss in key positions, the administrator has implemented measures to pay full salaries to current employees, while also introducing salary caps for certain senior executives and suspending the salaries of the founding partners.
The bankruptcy reorganization is a result of the survival of the fittest in the new energy vehicle industry, accelerating the industry’s reshuffling process. Companies that are weaker and lack core competitiveness are more likely to be eliminated by the market.
