Recently, WM Motor's official Weibo account, which had lain dormant for months, suddenly sprang to life with a post that catapulted the company back into the public eye. The post, which read, "Bao Neng Motor, please settle our wages," was accompanied by a photo taken from the vantage point of a senior executive's office. However, the post was swiftly deleted.

In reality, the issue of unpaid wages had been simmering within the newly restructured WM Motor for quite some time. Starting from September 2025, employee salaries were subject to discounts, and after the January salary was disbursed during the Chinese New Year of the current year, wages came to a complete halt, with the backlog of unpaid wages now exceeding six months.

The mention of "Bao Neng Motor" in the post sparked speculation, with fingers pointing towards Baoneng Motor. This connection can be traced back to September 2025 when WM Motor abruptly unveiled its revival strategy, issuing a "Statement on the Restructuring of New WM Motor" and declaring that Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. had stepped in as the restructuring investor and new shareholder for WM Motor's four core entities.

The plan outlined the resumption of production for the EX5 and E5 models at the Wenzhou base, setting ambitious targets of 10,000 units in sales and production for 2025, 100,000 units for 2026, and an annual target of 1 million units by 2030. It also announced an initial investment of 1 billion yuan to facilitate production resumption and upgrades.

Following the announcement, the newly restructured WM Motor simultaneously embarked on a recruitment drive, advertising over 70 positions across various levels, including engineers, managers, and directors, spanning manufacturing, engineering, R&D, and more, signaling a comprehensive team rebuild.

The supply chain was also being meticulously reconnected. WM Motor stated that it had reached out to 215 historical suppliers, with over 80% expressing willingness to continue their cooperation.

However, just ten days after the release of the restructuring white paper, a reporter's on-site inspection of the Wenzhou base revealed no signs of the bustling activity anticipated from a production restart. The base's security personnel also confirmed that production had not resumed. Nevertheless, the restructuring investor claimed otherwise, stating that over a hundred workers had entered the workshop and were engaged in debugging production lines.

It is reported that WM Motor claimed to have launched over ten vehicles for the market during its production resumption phase but has not released any production or sales data since. Industry sources also indicate a lack of evidence of mass deliveries in the market.

On November 3, 2025, WM Motor took to WeChat and Weibo, teasing, "Good news is on the horizon, stay tuned," accompanied by the phrase "What you never forget will eventually come back to you." Shortly after, WM Motor officially announced the relaunch of the Xiao Wei Sui Xing APP, restoring functionalities such as Bluetooth car control, remote car control, and Bluetooth keys for mobile apps, albeit only supporting the WM EX5 and EX6 models, with adaptation work for other models still underway.

These series of actions led the outside world to believe that WM Motor was genuinely on the cusp of a 'revival.'

However, the production resumption touted by WM Motor has failed to materialize in reality. Previous announcements of 'imminent good news' and the impending production restart at the Wenzhou base have all fallen flat, with the final assembly line remaining dormant and no new vehicles rolling off the line. The official Weibo account and official account have also been inactive since February 11, 2026.

Despite the lack of progress in vehicle production resumption, significant changes have transpired at the equity level between WM Motor and its restructuring investor. Public information reveals that in February of this year, WM Motor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. underwent industrial and commercial changes, with all supervisors withdrawing. Additionally, the original shareholders of Xiangfei withdrew entirely, with Hong Kong WM Motor Co., Ltd. emerging as the sole shareholder.

In April of this year, Xiangfei was rechristened as Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Group Co., Ltd. That same month, WM Motor embarked on a major asset sell-off. According to information from the Taobao Ali Auction platform, the accounts receivable of two WM Motor subsidiaries, WM Procurement and WM Sales, with book values of 128 million yuan and 140 million yuan respectively, were auctioned off with a starting bid of 100 yuan each. The 40% stake in Hengjiawei held by WM Procurement was also auctioned with a starting bid of 100 yuan.

The auction administrator clarified that no guarantees or commitments were provided regarding the authenticity or collectability of the external claims. With no one daring to take on the actual cash, the market has already rendered its verdict on the company's value.

In fact, the arduous journey of WM Motor's revival was somewhat predictable.

It's crucial to note that the market landscape WM Motor faces today is vastly different from when it first ventured in. Data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers over the years shows that in 2021, China's new energy vehicle sales reached 3.52 million units, skyrocketing to 16.49 million units by 2025, with the market size expanding nearly fivefold in four years. While the pie has grown larger, the slices are being fiercely contested by new entrants.

In 2025, BYD alone sold over 4.6 million units, followed by Geely, Changan, Chery, and Great Wall Motors, with these five domestic automakers selling a combined 14.64 million units, accounting for nearly half of the domestic passenger vehicle market. Once grouped alongside WM Motor as the "Four Little Dragons," NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto have now firmly established themselves in the market, while newcomers like Leapmotor, Xiaomi, and Harmony Intelligent Mobility have also carved out their niches. Additionally, "refrigerators, TVs, and sofas" have become standard features in smart cockpits, intensifying product competition.

In contrast, the EX5 and E5 models that WM Motor plans to resume production of first were launched in 2018 and 2022, respectively, and exhibit significant generational gaps compared to current market mainstream products in terms of electronic and electrical architecture, driving range, intelligent driving, and cockpit experience.

Besides product aging, WM Motor faces numerous rigid obstacles in resuming production. Among them, the inability to restore the telematics system fails to meet the safety data reporting requirements for new energy vehicle regulation. WM Motor's after-sales system is also nearly paralyzed, with frequent malfunctions of the "Xiao Wei Sui Xing" App. Since May this year, a large number of WM Motor owners have reported issues with downloading and logging into the app, while after-sales and customer service staff have been significantly reduced, leading some insiders to helplessly suggest that owners purchase parts online for repairs.

Against the backdrop of rapid industry iteration, the competitiveness of its products is questionable.

To make matters worse, the investor, the Baoneng Group, is also mired in debt. Recently, Baoneng Investment Group and Yao Zhenhua were added to the list of entities with 2.05 billion yuan in enforcement records. Baoneng Investment, Baoneng Motor, and Yao Zhenhua have accumulated a total of nearly 58.35 billion yuan in enforcement amounts, with related entities subject to high-consumption restrictions, and both companies now classified as dishonest entities subject to enforcement.

To date, there are no precedents in China of a new energy vehicle company successfully "reviving" after bankruptcy. Although HiPhi Motors once announced a production resumption due to Middle Eastern capital involvement, subsequent progress has once again fallen silent. Evergrande Auto, once the "market cap leader" among domestic automakers, has completely exited car manufacturing to sell batteries. Hozon New Energy Automobile, the parent company of Neta Auto, has entered bankruptcy restructuring proceedings but has not yet completed the final court ruling. WM Motor likewise faces numerous challenges, and replicating a successful revival story is extremely difficult.

(Image source: Internet, removed if infringing)