Zotye Automobile shares unfrozen, then immediately refrozen in judicial complexity

Zotye Automobile Company Limited (SZSE:000980) announced that 334,723,549 shares held in its special account for the disposal of assets of the bankrupt company were unfrozen by the Yongkang City People's Court. Immediately after this, the same block of shares was re-frozen by the Shenzhen Luohu District People's Court. This sequence of events, confirmed by Zotye Automobile through the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, stems from a civil ruling by the Shenzhen Luohu District People's Court.

The initial unfreeze, effective December 8, 2025, was connected to a property preservation application by Zotye Automobile concerning a loan dispute involving Shenzhen Lixun Industrial Co., Ltd. The court permitted the unfreeze of assets exceeding the preservation amount, capped at 83,874,968.33 yuan. The subsequent re-freeze by the Shenzhen Luohu District People's Court on December 9, 2025, involved the entire 334,723,549 shares, representing 100% of the disposal account’s holdings and 6.64% of Zotye Automobile’s total share capital.

Under its restructuring plan, Zotye Automobile intends to dispose of up to 3% of its total shares (151,276,432 shares) through centralized bidding and block trades within three months of the unfreeze to supplement working capital. The company will closely monitor the situation and provide updates.