Zotye Auto shareholder faces continued asset freeze

Zotye Automobile (SZSE: 000980) announced that shares held by Shenzhen National Digital Information Technology, a major shareholder, have been released from judicial freeze, only to be immediately frozen again. The initial release involved 28,959,949 shares, representing 7.60% of the shareholder's holdings and 0.57% of Zotye's total share capital. These shares were previously frozen starting December 16, 2024, and unfrozen on March 18, 2025, by the Changchun New District People's Court. Immediately following the release, the same number of shares were re-frozen by the same court, as well as the Changchun Municipal Intermediate People's Court, with new freeze periods extending to March 17, 2028. Shenzhen National Digital Information Technology continues to hold 381,000,000 Zotye shares, representing 7.56% of total shares outstanding, all of which are now subject to judicial freezes. Zotye maintains that its operations remain independent from its shareholders and that the freeze is not expected to impact its core business.