NIO Auto Founder Fang Yunzhou and Former CEO Zhang Yong Hit with $16.2M Equity Freeze

On June 17, 2024, two new equity freeze records were added against Tongxiang Hechuang Deli II Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership). The parties subject to enforcement are Fang Yunzhou, founder of Neta Auto, and former CEO Zhang Yong. The total frozen equity amounts to RMB 116 million, with a three-year freeze period ordered by the Shanghai Changning District People's Court. Established in September 2022, the partnership has Zhang Yong as its managing partner and a registered capital of RMB 200 million. It was jointly funded by Zhang Yong, Qian Dezhu, Chen Yaoguang, and Fang Yunzhou, serving as one of the core shareholding platforms for Neta Auto’s founding team and indirectly holding equity in Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. This latest freeze marks another large-scale judicial seizure of equity linked to the two individuals within the past six months—and represents the single largest amount frozen since their debt risks surfaced in 2025. Previously, in December 2024, 19.86 million shares directly held by Fang Yunzhou in Hozon New Energy were frozen by the Tongxiang City People’s Court. In May 2025, RMB 405 million worth of equity held by Zhang Yong in Tongxiang Hechuang Deli III Technology Consulting Partnership and RMB 20 million worth of equity held by Fang Yunzhou in Hozon New Energy were frozen by the Tongxiang City Court in Jiaxing. In June 2025, RMB 2 billion worth of equity held by Hozon New Energy in Zhonglian Tianxia Automotive Sales & Service Co., Ltd. was frozen by the Xuanwu District People’s Court in Nanjing. On May 27, 2025, additional equity freezes were imposed on Shanghai Zheao Industrial Co., Ltd.—a company co-owned by both individuals—with RMB 16.815 million frozen from Fang Yunzhou and RMB 8.55 million from Zhang Yong, totaling RMB 17.67 million, also enforced by the Shanghai Changning District People’s Court. On March 13, 2025, Fang Yunzhou, Zhang Yong, and Yichun Langling Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership)—an entity jointly controlled by the two—were listed as discredited被执行人 (dishonest judgment debtors) by the Shanghai Changning District People’s Court for “having the ability to perform but refusing to fulfill obligations stipulated in effective legal documents.” The enforcement target amounted to approximately RMB 226,800, with no payments made to date. Earlier, in November 2025, the trio had been added to two new enforcement records totaling RMB 365,700; in December of the same year, they incurred an additional enforcement record of RMB 1.05 million issued by the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court. Additionally, in September 2025, Shanghai Zheao Industrial received a consumption restriction order due to its failure to fulfill a payment obligation of RMB 469.7 million, resulting in Fang Yunzhou—as the legal representative—being simultaneously barred from high-end consumption. Both Fang Yunzhou and Zhang Yong are alumni of Hefei University of Technology and previously worked together at Chery Automobile. Fang Yunzhou earned his bachelor’s degree from Hefei University of Technology and later obtained a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University. He served as Deputy General Manager of Chery New Energy before co-founding Hozon New Energy (Neta Auto) in Tongxiang, Zhejiang, in 2014. Zhang Yong also graduated from the automotive engineering program at Hefei University of Technology and later earned an MBA from Tsinghua University. He previously held senior roles at BAIC New Energy, including Deputy General Manager and General Manager of the Marketing Company, before joining Hozon New Energy as CEO in 2018. On December 6, 2024, Neta Auto announced that Zhang Yong would step down as CEO and transition to an advisory role, with Fang Yunzhou assuming the CEO position concurrently. Since then, Zhang Yong has largely retreated from public view. In May 2025, Shanghai Yuxing Advertising Co., Ltd. filed for bankruptcy reorganization of Hozon New Energy with the Intermediate People’s Court of Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, citing debt disputes—marking the official unveiling of the company’s debt crisis. From 2021 to 2023, Hozon New Energy reported cumulative net losses of RMB 18.3 billion, translating to an average loss exceeding RMB 80,000 per vehicle sold. At the time the debt crisis emerged, the company owed approximately RMB 3.32 billion to suppliers, RMB 1.1 billion in bank loans, RMB 140 million in advertising fees, and around RMB 460 million in unpaid wages and severance to over 5,000 employees. Local governments had previously invested heavily to attract the projects: Yichun, Jiangxi contributed RMB 1.42 billion; Nanning, Guangxi invested roughly RMB 1.6 billion; and Tongxiang, Zhejiang, among other locations, also committed substantial funds—most of which now appear unrecoverable. Neta Auto’s three major production bases in Yichun, Nanning, and Tongxiang have completely halted operations, its supply chain has nearly collapsed, and after-sales services—including warranties and OTA updates—for hundreds of thousands of vehicle owners have come to a complete standstill.