Investor offers HiPhi the prospect of up to one billion dollars

The premium electric car brand HiPhi from Chinese manufacturer Human Horizons is about to be restructured with a financial injection of up to one billion US dollars. However, some questions remain unanswered.

After a new sign of life from HiPhi at the beginning of May, a possible rescue is becoming more concrete. According to an official announcement, it could get a capital injection from the iAuto Group, an automotive platform registered in the US state of Delaware, which is “focused on enhancing the value of promising automotive firm.” HiPhi is to resume production with the help of the capital.

However, the cooperation agreement also includes a “equity merger and acquisition, technical cooperation, brand and international sales alignment,” as the press release cryptically states. HiPHi’s models are already listed on the iAuto website.

iAuto states in the press release that financing has been secured “from institutional investors” but does not mention any names. What is striking, however, is that the agreement announcement was sent from Hong Kong, where iAuto’s Asian headquarters are located. A few weeks ago, there were rumours that HiPhi could receive a financial injection from an unspecified investor in Hong Kong – but now the iAuto Group is officially based in Delaware. However, the US state is also known for its many letterbox companies, which only have a formal registered office in Delaware due to the local tax legislation.

According to the company website, the iAuto Group was founded in 2023 by Jack Yeung, who still runs the company today. Yeung was previously Managing Director at the US bank Morgan Stanley and was responsible for the “China Automotive Sectro” team. He previously held similar positions at Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas. Co-founder and CFO Simon Cheng also has a background as an investment expert and industry analyst specialising in China. Stephanie Yeung, now CSO of iAuto, is also named co-founder. She previously worked for Itero Capital.

The press release does not mention representatives of iAuto or HiPhi. Instead, it states that iAuto has chosen Human Horizons as its strategic partner in China “because of Human Horizon’s proven innovation in design and technology. Human Horizons fully believes in and recognizes iAuto’s mission and values,” says iAuto.

einnews.com