Produced by Leida Finance | Written by Ding Yu | Edited by Meng Shuai

The embattled Nezha Auto has finally found its “Taiyi Zhenren” to reshape its future prospects.

With the disclosure of the , the mysterious veil surrounding Taiyi Shenglian, the restructuring investor of Hozon New Energy (the parent company of Nezha Auto), has been officially lifted.

Taiyi Shenglian plans to invest 3 billion yuan to acquire approximately 70.62% of Hozon New Energy's equity. Of this, 1.167 billion yuan is earmarked for settling claims related to retained assets and bankruptcy expenses, while 1.833 billion yuan will be used to bolster working capital.

Simultaneously, Taiyi Shenglian has formulated a three-step strategy for Nezha Auto. The plan involves first resuming production of the Nezha X model, then focusing on overseas markets with a target annual production of 300,000 units, and ultimately achieving a global presence and an annual output value of 40 billion yuan, while initiating IPO preparations.

Leida Finance notes that Taiyi Shenglian has close ties to ZSE High-Tech, the sole intended restructuring investor (potential investor) for Nezha Auto previously. One of the beneficial owners of Taiyi Shenglian is Ye Ji, the actual controller of ZSE High-Tech.

ZSE High-Tech, which emerged from the restructuring of *ST Yinyi, accumulated losses nearing 4.8 billion yuan from 2022 to 2024 and only turned a profit last year.

As of the end of the first half of this year, ZSE High-Tech's total assets stood at just 7.31 billion yuan, less than 30% of the 26.58 billion yuan in total claims filed against Nezha Auto as previously disclosed.

Furthermore, Tianyancha data shows that Ye Ji, the actual controller of ZSE High-Tech, has three new consumption restriction orders this year, bringing his total to five.

"Taiyi Saves Nezha": A 3 Billion Yuan Restructuring Plan Unveiled

According to , on the morning of September 11, the fourth creditors' meeting for the bankruptcy restructuring case of Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hozon New Energy"), the parent company of Nezha Auto, was held online.

According to the provided by creditors, Zhejiang Taiyi Shenglian Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Taiyi Shenglian"), the restructuring investor of Hozon New Energy, plans to provide 3 billion yuan for the restructuring investment and acquire approximately 70.62% of Hozon New Energy's equity.

Of the 3 billion yuan, 1.167 billion yuan will be used to settle claims related to retained assets and bankruptcy expenses; the remaining 1.833 billion yuan will supplement Hozon New Energy's working capital to support its operations and development post-restructuring.

The highly anticipated "path to rebirth" for Nezha Auto is expected to unfold in three steps.

In the first phase, the company plans to resume production of the Nezha X model, primarily targeting overseas markets with an annual sales target of 10,000 units. Simultaneously, it will rebuild confidence in upstream supply chain cooperation, ensure the supply of official spare parts, fully restore after-sales maintenance services for Nezha Auto, and activate the existing service network to provide official maintenance services to vehicle owners.

The administrator stated in the that for the resumption of production of the Nezha X model, "some tentative orders have already been secured."

It is understood that the Nezha X is a compact SUV model that was priced between 89,800 yuan and 124,800 yuan before production was halted. This model was once the mainstay of Nezha Auto's overseas expansion, having been launched in seven overseas countries and securing over 7,000 orders.

In this restructuring, mechanical equipment, electronic equipment, fixed assets, and other core operating assets of the Nezha L and X models will be retained, while mechanical equipment for the Nezha S and GT models will be disposed of as non-core operating assets.

In the second phase, following restructuring, Nezha Auto will focus on launching models suitable for regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with a target annual production of 300,000 units.

In the third phase, the company plans to develop global intelligent vehicle models, aiming for an annual output value of 40 billion yuan and initiating IPO preparations.

Regarding employee placement, the administrator stated that Hozon New Energy will properly place employees with existing labor relations in accordance with the law.

For former employees who had labor relations with Hozon New Energy, channels for re-employment will be gradually opened in the future.

Coincidentally, another automaker, WM Motor, which has also faced difficulties, previously announced a high-profile "three-step" resumption of production plan.

In September last year, WM Motor released a , planning to resume production in September, achieve mass production of 100,000 units by 2026, initiate IPO preparations from 2027 to 2028, and ultimately challenge an annual production of 1 million units and revenue of 120 billion yuan by 2030.

At that time, WM Motor also hoped to break through in overseas markets, initially planning to resume production of the EX5/E.5 models and stating that it had secured clear orders in overseas markets.

However, Leida Finance notes that WM Motor's official account subsequently deleted the previously released , and news about WM Motor's resumption of production gradually faded from the market.

Unveiling Taiyi Shenglian: The Beneficiary Behind the Scenes Faces Consumption Restrictions

Tianyancha data shows that Taiyi Shenglian, the restructuring investor of Hozon New Energy, was registered and established in April this year.

In terms of equity, Taiyi Shenglian is a partnership formed by Zhejiang ZSE Holdings Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang ZSE Yuxu Technology Co., Ltd.

The actual controller of the former is Ye Ji, the chairman of ZSE High-Tech, while the actual controller of the latter is Yu Shuxin, the head of ZSE High-Tech's board office. Both are beneficial owners of Taiyi Shenglian.

The naming of "Taiyi Shenglian" and "ZSE Yuxu" is clearly intentional: In , Taiyi Zhenren belongs to the Yuxu Palace lineage of Kunlun Mountain and is a direct disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the "Twelve Golden Immortals." It was he who reshaped Nezha's body using lotus flowers and leaves.

ZSE High-Tech, which has close ties to Taiyi Shenglian, did not appear suddenly. As early as September last year, there were reports that ZSE High-Tech was advancing restructuring matters with Hozon New Energy, with original Hozon New Energy personnel expected to complete handover and exit after October 1, and the ZSE High-Tech team set to officially take over.

In December of the same year, there were further reports that ZSE High-Tech had fully taken over Nezha Auto. At that time, relevant personnel from ZSE High-Tech stated, "We have such an intention (to participate in the restructuring of Hozon New Energy), but it has not been finally determined yet."

During the same period, ZSE High-Tech also established Zhejiang Qianhe Automobile Co., Ltd. at the registered address of Hozon New Energy, but relevant personnel from ZSE High-Tech denied that this was preparation for restructuring Nezha Auto, stating it was "just part of the company's normal business operations."

Notably, Qianhe Automobile is wholly owned by Shanghai ZSE Youqian Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of ZSE High-Tech, and the legal representative, director, and manager of ZSE Youqian is Yu Shuxin.

Now, the confirms that during the registration period for the administrator to recruit restructuring investors (August 4 to September 15, 2025), ZSE High-Tech, an A-share listed company, was the sole intended investor (potential investor).

However, Taiyi Shenglian subsequently replaced ZSE High-Tech in participating in the restructuring investment, with all rights and obligations of ZSE High-Tech transferred to Taiyi Shenglian.

The states that Taiyi Shenglian is a special entity established for this restructuring, with a management team possessing experience in automotive industry operations and bankruptcy restructuring, having previously completed the bankruptcy restructuring of a listed company in the auto parts industry.

The aforementioned "having previously completed the bankruptcy restructuring of a listed company in the auto parts industry" may be related to ZSE High-Tech.

Public information shows that ZSE High-Tech was formerly Ningbo real estate developer Yinyi Co., Ltd., which entered the auto parts industry in 2016 by acquiring American ARC (airbag inflators) and Belgian Punch (automatic transmissions).

In 2019, Yinyi Co., Ltd. was forced into bankruptcy restructuring due to its major shareholder's occupation of listed company funds and debt explosions, and the company was ST'd the same year.

The Ningbo real estate businessman Ye Ji, who led Yinyi Co., Ltd.'s restructuring, is quite mysterious. Jiaxing Zihe Jinxin Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Zihe Jinxin"), controlled by him, became the restructuring investor of Yinyi Co., Ltd. with a total bid of 3.2 billion yuan.

After the restructuring plan was executed in 2022, the actual controller of Yinyi Co., Ltd. changed from Xiong Xuqiang to Ye Ji. In 2023, the company was renamed ZSE Co., Ltd., and later in March 2024, it was renamed ZSE High-Tech.

It is worth mentioning that as the controlling shareholder of Zhejiang ZSE Holdings Co., Ltd., the behind-the-scenes shareholder of Taiyi Shenglian, Chiji Holding Group Co., Ltd. is also the executing partner of Zihe Jinxin, the controlling shareholder of listed company ZSE High-Tech; while Ye Ji is the actual controller of both Zhejiang ZSE Holdings Co., Ltd. and ZSE High-Tech.

However, Tianyancha data shows that currently, Chiji Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Ye Ji are subject to four and five consumption restriction orders, respectively.

ZSE High-Tech's Recent Performance Is Far from Impressive, Posing Significant Challenges for Nezha's "Path to Rebirth"

In terms of performance, ZSE High-Tech's results in the years following its restructuring have not been impressive.

From 2022 to 2024, ZSE High-Tech incurred losses for three consecutive years, with a cumulative net loss attributable to the parent company of 4.768 billion yuan. It was not until 2025 that the company finally turned a profit, recording a net profit attributable to the parent company of 1.026 billion yuan for the year.

However, in 2026, ZSE High-Tech once again faced profitability challenges. In the first half of the year, the company's net profit attributable to the parent company plummeted by 85.69% year-on-year to 31 million yuan; the loss in non-recurring profit and loss expanded by 25.53% year-on-year to 349 million yuan.

During the same period, ZSE High-Tech's net cash flow from operating activities was -147 million yuan, and its cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at just 307 million yuan.

As of the end of the first half of the year, ZSE High-Tech's asset-liability ratio was 61.28%, a significant improvement from 81.52% at the end of 2021. However, the company's total assets had also shrunk from 21.516 billion yuan at the end of 2021 to 7.31 billion yuan.

In this restructuring, Taiyi Shenglian faces a heavily indebted Nezha Auto.

Public information shows that from 2021 to 2023, Hozon New Energy accumulated a net loss of 18.3 billion yuan, averaging over 80,000 yuan in losses per vehicle sold.

According to Hozon New Energy's administrator, as of the end of August last year, a total of 1,631 creditors had filed claims amounting to 26.58 billion yuan.

In addition to these creditors, the company also owes over 5,000 employees wages, economic compensation, subsidies, benefits, reimbursements, and housing provident fund contributions, totaling approximately 460 million yuan.

The administrator also disclosed that the book balance of monetary funds in the debtor's accounts was approximately 15.4591 million yuan, including around 420,000 yuan in acceptance deposits and approximately 15 million yuan in bank deposits. Additionally, Hozon New Energy currently has around 9.3 billion yuan in accounts receivable.

Some opinions believe that facing Nezha Auto's massive debt hole, Taiyi Shenglian faces significant financial pressure. Coupled with the intense competition in the domestic new energy vehicle market and the trend of major players expanding overseas, Nezha Auto's "path to rebirth" is bound to face numerous challenges.