WM Motor

History

2023

Bankruptcy declaration

On October 9, 2023, it became known that the Chinese electric car startup WM Motor filed for bankruptcy. The court in Shanghai is considering the case. The company itself, as part of the reorganization process, expects to attract strategic investors to continue its activities.

WM Motor was founded in early 2015 by Freeman Shen, a former Geely executive. The company was financially supported by the Chinese Internet corporation Baidu. WM Motor presented its first production car EX5 startup in May 2018 at the Beijing Motor Show. The company owns the Weltmeister electric car brand, which translates from German as "World Champion."

WM Motor files for bankruptcy

WM Motor reportedly faced serious financial difficulties. This is due to several reasons, including restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, significant fluctuations in raw materials prices, fierce competition in the Chinese electric vehicle market and failures to raise capital necessary to maintain operations and development.

Sales of WM Motor electric vehicles grew steadily during 2019-2021. So, in 2019, the company sold 12,799 cars, in 2020 - 21,937 copies, and in 2021 - 44,152 cars. However, in 2022, the situation changed: sales collapsed by about a third compared to the previous year - to about 29,450 units. Finding itself in a difficult financial situation, WM Motor began to reduce the salaries of managers and ordinary employees. In addition, some sales salons were closed, and factories in Huanggang, Hubei and Wenzhou temporarily stopped production. But all these measures did not help, and WM Motor is forced to file for bankruptcy. The future of the company as of October 2023 remains in doubt.^[1]

Sale of the company to a competitor for $2.02 billion

In mid-January 2023, Apollo Future Mobility Group of Hong Kong, which creates premium cars, announced the purchase of the Chinese company WM Motor, which specializes in the development of vehicles with an electric power plant.

WM Motor was founded by Freeman Shen, former chief executive officer of the automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. In October 2021, WM Motor announced the raising of $500 million in two rounds of funding, including a $300 million Series D1 program led by telecommunications company PCCW. In addition, the electric car maker has won the backing of a number of high-profile investors, including state automaker SAIC and internet giant Baidu.

Apollo Future Mobility Group, which creates premium cars, announced the purchase of Chinese company WM Motor

It is reported that Apollo Future Mobility Group will pay approximately $2.02 billion for WM Motor. The deal is expected to help improve the position of WM Motor, which was previously seen as a competitor to Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, but was desperate for money as of early 2023. In 2021, the company sold 44,152 cars. That dropped to 29,358 units between January and November 2022, according to the China Passenger Vehicle Association (CPCA).

Companies intend to close during the first half of 2023. This is supposed to allow WM Motor to enter the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to Bloomberg, in June 2022, WM Motor filed documents for an initial public offering in Hong Kong and, according to rumors, hoped to raise up to $1 billion. However, the developer of electric vehicles never carried out the IPO procedure. According to the South China Morning Post, the firm also had plans to float on the Shanghai Star Market exchange, which is an analogue of the American Nasdaq.^[2]

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