The "white knight" in the Middle East acquiring HiPhi Motors is actually publicly issuing tokens for financing

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Do you remember that stylish yet unfortunately bankrupt car manufacturer, HiPhi?

It has welcomed a Middle Eastern white knight and may be resurrected.

According to reports, a Middle Eastern electric vehicle company named EV Electra plans to invest $1 billion in the restructuring of HiPhi and seeks to gain a controlling stake.

As per Tianyancha, on May 22, Jiangsu HiPhi Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially established with a registered capital of $143.2665 million. The company is jointly funded by Lebanese electric vehicle firm EV Electra Ltd. and HiPhi's parent company, Huaren Yuntong, holding 69.8% and 30.2% of the shares, respectively.

The latest environmental impact assessment report disclosed by the Yancheng Economic Development Zone shows that the renovation project of the Yueda Kia factory, which previously served as HiPhi's contract manufacturer, has been launched, with plans to produce three models: HiPhi X, Y, and Z, expected to be completed by October this year.

What kind of entity is this Middle Eastern electric vehicle company?

Public information shows that EV Electra was founded in 2017 and is an electric vehicle company headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon.

According to its official website, the company is the first Arab-Canadian electric vehicle manufacturer to launch electric cars; the first electric vehicle company in the Middle East and Arab world; and has operations in Canada, Italy, Germany, Turkey, and Asia.

Notably, EV Electra has been expanding globally in recent years: it acquired a majority stake in Detroit Electric in 2021 and announced the purchase of the NEVS Emily GT and Pons Robotaxi projects in 2023.

Currently, the homepage of EV Electra's official website features the HiPhi logo and three models.

However, unexpectedly, I found that EV Electra is conducting a token public offering on its official website.

The website shows that EV Electra has launched its ecological token EVET, which can currently be purchased directly by connecting a wallet, priced at 1 EVET = 1 USDT. If you are unsure how to use cryptocurrency, it even supports bank transfers for purchases.

According to its description, purchasing vehicles with EV Electra tokens can enjoy a 20% discount and can use EVET for minting.

EV Electra NFT, this NFT serves as a form of virtual shares, allowing holders to receive company profits, though this is merely a statement.

Opening the white paper released in April 2025 reveals that EV Electra adopts a dual-token system.

EVET is a utility token with a total supply of 1.2 billion, with 28.33% allocated for private placement, 41.6% for public offering, and 30% for the team. Priced at 1 EVET = 1 USDT, it aims to raise $840 million, showing considerable ambition. Its practical benefit lies in obtaining a 20% discount when using EVET for payments.

EVEN is an ERC-721 format NFT with a total supply of 12 million, primarily used for profit sharing and governance. EV Electra promises to convert 10% of its net profit into USDT for distribution to NFT holders.

In the white paper, EV Electra outlines its future blueprint, aiming to sell 100,000 vehicles, generate $1.5 billion in profit, and distribute $150 million to NFT holders.

According to its development roadmap, EV Electra plans to complete token issuance and exchange listing in Q2 2025, establish a governance framework and production reservations in Q3, and complete the first USDT profit distribution in 2026. Between 2027 and 2030, it aims to achieve a target production of 500,000 electric vehicles.

Why issue a token?

EV Electra founder Jihad M. Mohammad stated on his personal social media that the company originally planned to list on NASDAQ but changed its plans due to "Trump's crazy actions," shifting to a "hybrid approach" that digitizes part of the company's equity in the form of NFTs, which will have dividend rights, while also planning a reverse merger listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Regarding the use of funds, Jihad candidly stated that part of the money will be used to help Palestine, while another part will be used to create a fund, emphasizing that they are the first company to adopt this model with pure Arab and Muslim heritage.

However, both EV Electra and founder Jihad have faced considerable controversy.

In 2023, EV Electra was accused of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam, using car manufacturing as a guise to defraud investors. Later, Jihad responded that the software developer, Swedish businessman Anthony Norman, had been detained and convicted of multiple fraud charges and had been dismissed, with investors receiving refunds.

By the end of 2023, automotive media reported that EV Electra had used images of other manufacturers' cars on its website, presenting them as its own designs, including the Skywell ET5 SUV and a K-1 Attack kit car, with the vehicles marked with the EV Electra logo. After being exposed, these concept images disappeared from the EV Electra website.

Currently, the newly established company formed by HiPhi and EV Electra has a registered capital of $100 million, contributed according to the shareholding ratio, with a subscription date of December 31, 2025.

On the EV Electra token issuance website, HiPhi's materials have already been integrated, stating, "After acquiring HiPhi, EV Electra will elevate high-end electric vehicles to a new height."

This series of actions has raised many questions within the industry: a Middle Eastern electric vehicle company with a controversial history promises $1 billion to restructure HiPhi while simultaneously raising $840 million through tokens, leaving its true intentions and financial strength open to speculation.

More concerning is that the HiPhi brand and product image have been directly used for token marketing; whether this operation has received approval from Huaren Yuntong is questionable.

From car manufacturing to token issuance, from NASDAQ listing plans to NFT virtual equity, from promises to help Palestine to claims of pure Arab heritage, EV Electra's business model and financing strategy seem filled with uncertainty and contradictions.

We look forward to and support the rebirth of HiPhi, but we also hope that HiPhi can carefully assess the qualifications and intentions of its partners, avoiding losing direction in the fog of capital, and ensuring that this Chinese brand does not become a pawn for foreign companies to hype cryptocurrency.

After all, a true "white knight" should bring funding, technology, and market access, rather than empty promises and illusory token blueprints.