WM Motor, Jiyue, and HiPhi are all about to make a comeback.

As of December 2025, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles has exceeded 50%. In the fierce market competition, leading automakers, leveraging their technological, channel, and brand advantages, have captured over 70% of the market share, squeezing most small and medium - sized brands to the brink of survival.

Chart/Trend of new energy vehicle penetration rate from January to October 2025. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

However, some new car - making brands that have gone bankrupt or halted production still haven't given up the idea of "coming back to life".

WM Motor and Jiyue have successively announced new developments, either registering new companies or initiating legal procedures to make a comeback; Even earlier, Human Horizons' HiPhi took substantial steps on the "resurrection" path by establishing Jiangsu HiPhi Automobile Co., Ltd. and restarting its after - sales service system.

It cannot be ignored that these brands failed to gain a firm foothold and enter the final competition circle in the early years when the market environment was more lenient. Now, the product iteration speed and technological innovation level in the new energy vehicle industry have changed dramatically. Whether it's the upgrade of the three - electric system, the breakthrough in intelligent driving, or users' requirements for service experience, there are generational gaps compared to the past.

Against this backdrop, it's easy to imagine how difficult it will be for these "stalled brands" to successfully "resurrect".

1. New car - making brands that want to "come back to life" after "dying"

Recently, new car - making brands that want to "come back to life" after "dying" have been very active.

Tianyancha App shows that on November 27th, Zhima Xing (Wenzhou) New Energy Vehicle Sales Co., Ltd. was established with a registered capital of 200 million RMB. Its business scope includes the sales of new energy vehicle complete vehicles, new energy vehicle electrical accessories, and automobiles.

Chart/Establishment of Zhima Xing (Wenzhou) New Energy Vehicle Sales Co., Ltd. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

Notably, according to the shareholder information, this company is wholly - owned by WM Motor Manufacturing (Wenzhou) Co., Ltd.

This is not the first time this year that WM Motor has shown signs of "rising from the dead".

On November 3rd, WM Motor posted on its official account, saying "Good things are coming soon, please stay tuned", and attached an image with the words "If you keep thinking about something, it will surely come true" (the post has now been deleted). Two days later, it announced again that the "Xiaowei Suihang App" would be relaunched, and functions such as Bluetooth vehicle control, remote vehicle control, and Bluetooth keys on the mobile app were restored.

Chart/WM Motor announced the relaunch of the Xiaowei Suihang APP. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

Previously, Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen Xiangfei), the restructuring investor of WM Motor, released the "White Paper for Suppliers" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") through WM Motor's official WeChat account, announcing the relevant plans for the new company. It plans to launch more than 10 new products in the market in the next five years to meet the diverse needs of the global market.

A series of actions all show WM Motor's determination to "resurrect". Coincidentally, also in November, Jiyue, which caused a stir due to its "sudden collapse", also had the idea of "resurrecting".

According to Jiyue Automobile, Shanghai Jidu Automobile Co., Ltd. announced on November 25th that it had submitted a pre - restructuring application to the Third Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai on an earlier date, and the application was officially accepted on November 21st, 2025.

Chart/Jidu Automobile will initiate the pre - restructuring process. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

In addition, according to Tianyancha information, in May this year, a company named "Jiangsu HiPhi Automobile Co., Ltd." was established, with its business scope covering core areas such as new energy vehicle production and parts R & D. Among its shareholders, Human Horizons, the parent company of HiPhi, holds 30.2% of the shares. On September 27th, the administrator of Hozon New Energy, the parent company of Nezha, officially announced the results of the public recruitment of restructuring investors.

Chart/Establishment of Jiangsu HiPhi Automobile Co., Ltd. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

In fact, it's not hard to understand why these automakers, which have gone bankrupt but frequently spread news of resurrection, are doing so.

Some industry insiders pointed out that the fundamental reason for the collective "resurrection" of automakers such as WM Motor, Jiyue, and HiPhi is that, on the one hand, these automakers hold scarce assets such as vehicle - manufacturing licenses and intelligent driving technologies, and the cost of resource reuse is much lower than that of new - established brands; on the other hand, even though the current new energy market is highly competitive, there are still incremental gaps in niche markets, and automakers can leverage their own advantages to gain a differentiated position.

For example, WM Motor has a complete production license. In September, a relevant person from WM Motor mentioned that the Wenzhou base has indeed resumed production and is in the ramping - up stage before mass production; Jiyue is backed by Baidu and Geely, with a mature industrial chain and significant competitive advantages in intelligent driving; and HiPhi has been labeled as "high - end" since its inception. In 2021, the HiPhi X sold 4,237 units, surpassing the Porsche Taycan to become the best - selling electric vehicle priced over 500,000 RMB.

2. Who will be the happiest if they resume production?

The above - mentioned industry insiders further emphasized that the core logic behind automakers initiating the "resurrection" process lies in the high - degree alignment of the strategic demands of multiple parties, including the enterprise, investors, and partners, which ultimately forms a combined force to promote "resurrection". "Whether it's the shareholders or local government departments deeply involved, they are not willing to see their previous investments go to waste. Instead, they hope to achieve secondary utilization of resources by revitalizing existing assets, especially the core factory production capacity and vehicle - manufacturing licenses."

Data shows that before entering the bankruptcy process, WM Motor had a cumulative financing scale exceeding 40 billion yuan. It not only set a financing record for new car - making brands but also attracted well - known industry - leading star institutions such as Baidu, Tencent, and Sequoia Capital as investors. The scale of capital and resource investment is evident.

Compared with WM Motor, Jiyue, which is also in a "crisis" situation, has a more dazzling "capital halo" behind it. Whether it was Jidu Automobile when Baidu was the largest shareholder or the subsequent Jiyue brand under Geely's control due to license adjustments, it's no exaggeration to say that Jiyue has been regarded as a typical "rich second - generation" in the new car - making field since its birth.

As early as 2022, the brand, then operating as Jidu Automobile, successfully completed a Series A financing of nearly 3 billion RMB. Baidu empowered Jidu with its Apollo autonomous driving core technology, which had cost over 150 billion RMB in R & D, free of charge, and Geely opened up its SEA vast architecture and vehicle production capacity.

Chart/Apollo in - vehicle series products. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

If these new car - making brands completely withdraw from the market, it means that the previous multi - billion - level investments will become "sunk costs". In addition, local state - owned assets also have high hopes for these automakers, expecting that after their "resurrection", they can continuously drive the coordinated development of the local industrial chain, contribute to the cultivation and growth of the new energy vehicle industrial cluster, and inject impetus into local tax revenue growth and employment stability.

It can be seen that once the new car - making brands eager to "resurrect" successfully restart, it will achieve a win - win situation for multiple parties, not just a single entity.

In addition to the urgent demands of the capital side, the successful "resurrection" of automakers is directly related to the vital interests of existing car owners.

On the Xiaohongshu platform, a WM Motor owner said bluntly: "I bought a WM car in 2021. Since there is no place to repair and maintain the car, I've been thinking about changing it recently. In September, there was news that WM Motor would make a comeback. Should WM Motor owners wait and see or change their cars?"

Chart/Attitudes of WM Motor owners. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

Another WM Motor owner mentioned, "Not to mention anything else, the trust of 100,000 old car owners, WM Motor's vehicle - manufacturing license, and the accumulated market reputation are all extremely precious. Compared with the brand's bankruptcy liquidation, I'd rather see WM Motor return to the competition track. I believe all users who have always firmly supported WM Motor are also looking forward to the restart of this automaker."

It's not hard to see from the car owners' remarks that they have strong expectations for the "resurrection" of automakers. After all, if an automaker withdraws from the market, the core rights and interests of car owners, such as after - sales maintenance, vehicle insurance, and vehicle system upgrades, will be severely affected and may even fall into a situation where no one is responsible.

A HiPhi owner shared on Xiaohongshu that the annual vehicle insurance cost of his HiPhi X has reached over 9,000 RMB. Not only is the insurance premium high, but mainstream insurance companies such as PICC also refuse to insure it for vehicle damage insurance. Another HiPhi owner also said helplessly: "Without the protection of vehicle damage insurance, I have to be extra careful when driving, fearing any bumps."

3. Will anyone still buy their cars?

Objectively speaking, the possibility of these brands that have been abandoned by the times successfully restarting is extremely slim.

Many industry insiders said bluntly that "When these brands entered the market, they had multiple advantages of favorable timing, geographical location, and human resources. They were favored by capital, empowered by technology, and happened to be in the explosive growth period of the new energy vehicle market. Even with such advantages, they still failed to gain a firm foothold in the market."

Indeed, once relying on "cost - effectiveness + first - mover advantage", WM Motor's first model, the EX5, was mass - produced and delivered in 2018. In 2019, the WM EX5 sold 16,000 units, surpassing the NIO ES8 and becoming the best - selling single - model pure - electric SUV. However, in the end, it went bankrupt due to problems such as product strength and blind expansion.

Chart/WM EX5. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

Jiyue, backed by the dual endorsement of "Baidu's intelligent driving + Geely's manufacturing", was highly anticipated for its first model, the Jiyue 01. However, after its launch, the brand positioning was unclear, neither highlighting Baidu's technological advantages nor leveraging Geely's channel resources.

Chart/Jiyue 01. Source/Screenshot from Internet, New Energy Outlook

HiPhi is labeled as "high - end and intelligent". The HiPhi X attracted attention at the beginning of its launch with innovative configurations such as the "digital mech" design. However, its price of over 600,000 RMB limited its target audience, and the follow - up product development was slow. Eventually, the capital chain broke, and it was forced to suspend deliveries.