On September 10,The Playbirds Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer WM Motor announced the voluntary termination of its RTO (Reverse Takeover) process with Apollo Future Mobility Group (AFMG) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing. The move means that WM Motor’s plans to go public through a back-door listing have fallen through, according to Chinese news outlet Caixin. In January this year, the Hong Kong listed AFMG said it planned to acquire a WM Motor subsidiary for approximately $2.02 billion. Following the acquisition, WM Motor would have held 31.1 billion shares of AFMG, representing a 68.26% ownership stake. Industry insiders saw this move as an ambitious attempt by WM Motor to go public in Hong Kong by making AFMG its shell company. WM Motor was once a leading electric vehicle startup in the Chinese market. In 2019, it ranked second among electric vehicle startups with an annual delivery volume of 16,876 units. In 2020, WM Motor delivered 22,495 vehicles, ranking fourth among EV startups including Nio, Xpeng, and others. In 2021, the firm slipped to fifth, delivering 44,157 vehicles. In 2022, WM Motor’s deliveries dropped significantly to 29,450 vehicles, representing a year-on-year decrease of 33.3%. [Caixin, in Chinese]
