On October 23, Zotye Auto released its latest financial report, showing that its operating revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 reached 419 million yuan, an increase of 8.98% year-on-year. In the third quarter alone, operating revenue was 139 million yuan, up 2.34% year-on-year. However, the company reported a net loss of 226 million yuan (approximately USD 31.8 million) for the first three quarters, representing a 33.13% increase in losses compared to the same period last year. In the third quarter, the company posted a loss of 75 million yuan, a slight improvement of 3.86% year-on-year.
According to the financial report, Zotye Auto has been making efforts to cut costs — sales, management, R&D, and financial expenses have all decreased year-on-year. However, the company’s income from asset disposals also fell sharply. Meanwhile, the net cash flow from operating activities remained negative in the first three quarters, dropping by 220.26% year-on-year, indicating weaker cash recovery ability and putting further pressure on profitability.
Looking at the longer-term trend, Zotye Auto has been suffering losses for six consecutive years, from 2019 to 2024. During this period, the company recorded losses of 1.00 billion yuan, 937 million yuan, 920 million yuan, 706 million yuan, 10.34 billion yuan, and 11.19 billion yuan respectively, bringing cumulative losses to 25.093 billion yuan. Currently, with its existing production qualifications, a manufacturing base capable of producing 300,000 vehicles annually, and some remaining overseas business, Zotye Auto is still struggling for survival. However, the company faces severe financing difficulties and risks bankruptcy liquidation.
In addition, Zotye Auto is currently in a state of having no controlling shareholder. On October 15, Zotye announced that its shareholder, Jiangsu Shenshang Holding Group Co., Ltd. (“Jiangsu Shenshang”), had its 3.79% equity stake transferred after a judicial auction. Since no shareholder currently holds more than 30% of the company’s shares and the board of directors has not yet been re-elected, Zotye Auto temporarily has no controlling shareholder.
The change in Zotye Auto’s equity structure stems from a judicial enforcement case. Jiangsu Shenshang and its concerted parties previously held a total of about 563 million shares, representing 11.16% of Zotye Auto’s total equity. Among these, approximately 191 million shares (3.79% of total equity) held by Jiangsu Shenshang were auctioned by the Changchun Intermediate People’s Court of Jilin Province. However, since no bidders participated, the auction failed on its first attempt on October 1, 2025, and the ownership of the shares was officially transferred to the applicant for enforcement — Changchun Branch of Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. (“Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank”) — to offset corresponding debts. After the transfer, Jiangsu Shenshang will no longer hold any shares in Zotye Auto, and the company’s controlling shareholder will temporarily remain vacant.
Zotye Auto’s own operations have long been in distress. Even after Jiangsu Shenshang’s takeover, its attempts to resume production and reenter the market with new models have failed to meet expectations, facing persistently weak sales, continued losses, and insufficient R&D investment. In June this year, Zotye stated that due to a lack of operational funding, its complete vehicle production had not yet resumed, and no vehicles had been manufactured in 2025.
In terms of market expansion, the company continues to promote cooperation in countries such as Algeria and Egypt, building on its presence in Iran, and has begun developing new markets in Ethiopia and Syria. These efforts aim to prepare customer resources and establish an overseas distribution network for the export of the T300 fuel version model in 2025.
However, even if Zotye manages to resume production, the company faces grim prospects given the current business and market environment. Industry insiders suggest that Zotye may eventually be acquired or restructured by another company, allowing its assets to be utilized under a new entity. If all rescue measures fail and no new investors step in, Zotye Auto may enter bankruptcy liquidation, during which its assets would be auctioned to repay debts — effectively marking the end of Zotye Auto as an operating enterprise.
