By ZHOU Shuqi
Apollo Future Mobility Group, a Hong Kong listed luxury sports car maker, said on Monday night it was about to buy “a Chinese EV maker,” without naming names. Many believed it was troubled Weltmeister Motors (WM), who might use Apollo Future for back-door listing.
WM filed for an IPO on the HKEX earlier this year, but its prospectus has expired.
After the merger, Apollo claims it will immediately be able to make use of the target’s technology, personnel and “business” in the mainland. Nothing material has been concluded.
Neither Apollo Future nor WM replied to Jiemian News's inquiry.
Apollo Future is owned by We Solution Limited. In Q4 last year, WM became the largest shareholder of We Solution with 28.5 percent of its equity. QI Zhenggang, co-founder of WM, became president of Apollo.
WM is on the brink of collapse with no fund to develop a new model. Its factories and outlets are closed. WM lost 13.6 billion yuan (US$2 billion) from 2019 to 2021. Each car sold lost 100,000 yuan.
Sources close to the matter said WM is not happy with the back-door listing solution but is clutching at every passing straw.
Apollo Future’s focus has so far been the luxury vehicle market. At the China International Import Expo in 2020, it revealed the Apollo IE, a carbon fiber sports car priced at US$3 million (21 million yuan). Ten were delivered.
In August, Qi Zhenggang told Jiemian News Apollo Future was forming a Chinese-mainland team with its first passenger car to be revealed in 2024. The team now has 50 members and will eventually grow to 500.
Apollo Future’s shares spiked 17 percent on Tuesday morning, closing only 1.8 percent higher at HK$0.285.
