Range, charging speed and price dominate an EV purchase. Manufacturer survival deserves a place on the same checklist because support may be needed for five, eight or even 10 years.
Malaysia already has a live example. Neta vehicles remain on local roads while parent company Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile works through a court-supervised reorganisation in China.
Elsewhere, Fisker, Canoo, Lordstown Motors and Arrival have either been liquidated, sold off or redirected into businesses that no longer build vehicles.
These cases are not legally identical. A restructuring can preserve a company, while Chapter 7 in the United States normally means liquidation.
What owners experience, however, is often similar: uncertainty over spare parts, warranty liability, diagnostic access, software servers and resale value.
Neta puts the risk on Malaysian roads
GoAuto Group subsidiary Intro Synergy launched the Neta V in Malaysia in October 2023 and added the Neta X nine months later.
Less than a year after that, Hozon entered reorganisation proceedings on June 12, 2025 under China’s Enterprise Bankruptcy Law. Reuters reported the development after it was disclosed by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The court process followed a sharp sales contraction. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data showed Neta’s volume peaked at 152,000 vehicles in 2022, fell to 87,948 in 2024 and reached only 1,215 units in the first quarter of 2025.
A Reuters investigation found that Neta had activated compulsory insurance on at least 64,719 vehicles between January 2023 and March 2024 before those cars had reached retail buyers.
This allowed the vehicles to appear as completed sales under China’s registration-based system. Some customers were also not told that their insurance cover had begun before they bought the cars.
The Malaysian distributor has continued operating separately from the Chinese parent company’s court case. Intro Synergy said in June 2025 that it would replace its dealer-led structure with direct sales while retaining service, warranty and parts support.
When its original Glenmarie premises closed, the company said in August that servicing had moved to Accentra Glenmarie nearby, with parts held in the Klang Valley and Seremban.
Intro Synergy, which operates as Neta Auto Malaysia, added another layer of protection for Neta V owners in March 2026 through an optional EV warranty subscription offered with Perak-based AZ Warranty.
The advertised three-year option costs RM5,400, while five years costs RM8,640. Coverage is restricted to specified components, including the traction battery, motor and infotainment hardware, and remains subject to the policy conditions.
While Intro Synergy said it will continue to honour warranties and support existing Neta owners, GoAuto is also expanding its EV portfolio. The group is slated to introduce BAIC’s premium Arcfox brand, whose line-up includes battery-electric and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs). Models, launch timing and sales plans have yet to be announced.
Whether this represents a broader diversification strategy or simply an expansion alongside Neta remains to be seen, particularly as Hozon Auto undergoes restructuring in China.
Hengchi barely moved beyond first deliveries
Evergrande’s automotive arm showed how quickly a large industrial plan can shrink. Its Hengchi 5 electric SUV entered customer service in October 2022, when the company said the first 100 vehicles had been handed over.
Mass production was suspended by December. Reuters cited people familiar with the matter who said the factory lacked enough new orders to continue at the planned rate.
The corporate position became more complicated in 2024. A court ordered two Evergrande New Energy Vehicle subsidiaries into bankruptcy reorganisation, while another creditor applied to liquidate the Shanghai-based Hengchi vehicle company.
Evergrande NEV later warned that severe cash constraints were obstructing operations and efforts to bring in an investor.
The listed parent has also remained outside normal market trading. A Hong Kong stock exchange announcement dated March 31, 2026 said its shares, suspended since April 1, 2025, would remain halted until further notice.
For owners, the corporate structure behind Hengchi was secondary to whether their cars could still be supported. The Hengchi 5 reached customers, but within weeks of launch, the companies responsible for parts, software updates and servicing were already under severe financial strain.
HiPhi restructuring approved, but comeback remains uncertain
HiPhi sold high-priced electric cars with complex doors, elaborate cabins and styling intended to separate it from China’s mainstream EV field. The products attracted attention, but parent company Human Horizons could not establish enough volume to sustain the operation.
Human Horizons stopped work on Feb 18, 2024. Later that year, it sought up to 300 million yuan (RM181.1 million) in debt funding as part of an effort to resume production, according to Reuters. The company then moved from an initial rescue process into formal consolidated restructuring.
There has since been legal progress. Administrator JunHe said the Yancheng Economic and Technological Development Zone Court approved a plan on April 2, 2026 covering Human Horizons and 51 affiliated companies. JunHe said the case involved more than 16,000 vehicle owners and that funds were used during the proceedings to maintain basic after-sales support.
Court approval moves the restructuring forward, but HiPhi has yet to show that production or showroom operations have resumed. No new model has been given a firm production date either. For now, a return remains unproven.
Fisker exposed risks of losing software support
Fisker Inc used Magna Steyr in Austria to manufacture the Ocean SUV, reducing the need to build its own assembly plant. Contract production did not solve its sales, cash and service problems.
Fisker Group began its US Chapter 11 case on June 17, 2024, with the other American entities following two days later. The Delaware bankruptcy court approved a liquidation plan in October, allowing the sale of roughly 3,000 remaining Ocean SUVs to American Lease to proceed.
The important part for owners was not the discounted vehicle inventory. It was the data infrastructure behind the cars. Court reporting by Reuters showed American Lease adding US$2.5 million (RM10.2 million) to fund five years of technical work, including data migration, software continuity and remote vehicle access. The settlement was also expected to provide some support to other Ocean owners.
The US Department of Justice separately told the court that owners could not lawfully be charged for safety-recall remedies that the manufacturer was required to provide without payment.
Fisker’s demise showed that an EV can remain roadworthy while losing app functions, remote commands, diagnostic access and over-the-air support when the manufacturer’s servers are shut down.
Canoo and Arrival ended up in the same auction catalogue
Canoo’s compact electric vans gained attention through proposed work with Walmart, NASA and other fleet customers. It produced only limited numbers and repeatedly needed fresh capital.
On Jan 17, 2025, Canoo said it would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and stop operating immediately. Chapter 7 did not leave room for a conventional turnaround: the business moved towards selling assets for creditors.
By June 2026, equipment from Canoo’s Oklahoma City facility was being offered in an eight-day online auction. Auction organiser AssetBuilt listed robotic welding cells, conveyors, testing systems, vehicle-assembly equipment and a fully automated Manz battery cell-to-module line.
Some of the machinery had already travelled through another failed EV company. Arrival’s UK operations entered administration in February 2024 after EY was appointed to two British subsidiaries. Canoo later bought new or lightly used Arrival production equipment at a steep discount and shipped it to Oklahoma.
Less than a year after Canoo received the second batch, Canoo itself was in bankruptcy. The equipment was put back on the market in 2026. The sequence says more about the economics of the period than any launch presentation: valuable machinery could survive and find another buyer even when the vehicle programmes attached to it did not.
Lordstown survived as a company, but left trucks behind
Lordstown Motors planned to build the Endurance electric pick-up for commercial fleets from a former General Motors plant in Ohio. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in June 2023 and sued Foxconn, alleging that the Taiwanese group had failed to meet investment and commercial commitments.
Bankruptcy ended for the corporate entity on March 14, 2024, when it reappeared as Nu Ride Inc. Its remaining assets centred on cash, tax attributes and legal claims rather than vehicle production.
The change in direction became explicit in June 2026. Nu Ride agreed to acquire Affinity Advisory Network and AAN Wealth Advisors, with founder Robert Hall retaining a 15% interest.
The target businesses distribute insurance and provide investment-advisory services. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 subject to conditions, has no connection with restarting Endurance production.
A company can therefore leave bankruptcy and continue trading even though the vehicle brand, manufacturing programme and service operation that made it recognisable are finished.
e.GO’s second collapse ended production
German start-up e.GO began delivering the small e.GO Life electric car in 2019 and sold about 1,350 units.
The company first became insolvent in 2020 but returned under new ownership. The rescue did not last. e.GO ran out of money again in 2024, while its planned e.wave X replacement had yet to reach customers.
No buyer was found to keep the business running. Production stopped, employees were laid off and the company’s assets were put up for sale.
The collapse left e.GO Life owners with the usual concerns surrounding a failed carmaker: where to obtain parts, who could repair the cars and whether technical support would remain available.
What EV buyers should check
Low prices should not be the only consideration.
Buyers should also evaluate the manufacturer’s financial health, the local distributor’s commitment to warranty and after-sales support, the availability of replacement parts, and whether essential vehicle functions rely on manufacturer software or online services.
These factors can have a greater impact on long-term ownership than the purchase price itself.
