Nezha Auto's parent company, Hozon Auto, has embarked on a debt repayment journey! It will reimburse Efort, an A-share supplier, a sum of 49 million yuan, with monthly installments of 8.2 million yuan spread over six months.

Recently, Efort (688165.SH), a publicly listed industrial robot firm, released an announcement concerning the settlement of outstanding contract amounts owed by Nezha Auto.

Hozon Auto, Nezha Auto's parent entity, along with its Yichun branch, owe Efort over 49.15 million yuan for equipment purchases.

Through court mediation, Hozon Auto and the Yichun branch have agreed to pay Efort approximately 8.1918 million yuan by the 30th of each month from June to November this year.

Should payments falter, overdue interest will accrue, and Efort reserves the right to petition the court for immediate enforcement to recover the remaining funds and interest in full.

Efort has further clarified that timely receipt of the payments will prompt it to voluntarily waive other litigation claims. Conversely, should payments lag, it will seek court enforcement for the recovery of all outstanding amounts in a single lump sum.

Indeed, Hozon Auto's financial obligations extend beyond Efort.

For instance, a subsidiary of Foshi Holdings filed a lawsuit against Hozon Auto in December last year for over 53 million yuan stemming from a service contract dispute. Several other companies, including Biaoxiang Co., Ltd. and Chuanhuan Technology, have deemed Hozon Auto's financial health as precarious and have written off their outstanding debts as uncollectible.

Earlier this year, in March, numerous suppliers descended upon Nezha Auto's Shanghai headquarters demanding payment, with some even camping out there.

In response, Nezha Auto proposed a "debt-to-equity swap" solution, essentially converting owed sums to suppliers into equity in the company, aiming to alleviate debt pressures and attract new investments. Subsequently, Nezha Auto announced that it had reached debt-to-equity swap agreements worth over 2 billion yuan with 134 core suppliers, including prominent firms like CATL.

In May, Nezha Auto encountered fresh challenges. According to Tianyancha, Hozon Auto accrued three new tax arrears totaling over 2.15 million yuan, encompassing urban land use tax, stamp tax, and property tax.

Simultaneously, from May 2nd onward, numerous Nezha car owners encountered issues with the car App, rendering it unusable and preventing remote vehicle control. Investigations revealed a network disconnection. While some speculated it was due to a lack of data traffic fees and unavailability during the holiday, Nezha Auto swiftly denied these rumors, attributing it to a system failure that had since been rectified. This was not the first such occurrence, as the App and official website had experienced anomalies in April and January as well.

In January this year, Nezha Auto's sales in China slumped to just 110 vehicles, and the company was actively seeking investments to address its debt woes, underscoring a less than optimistic scenario.