Zapp Electric
UK-based, NQ-listed, Thailand-manufactured Zapp Electric has received a Staff Delisting Determination notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. As per the notice, Nasdaq has started delisting the company’s securities from the Nasdaq Capital Market due to the Company’s non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).
The rule requires primary securities listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market to maintain a minimum bid price of at least USD 1.00 per share. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if a deficiency under the Listing Rule continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days.
Impact
Typically, Nasdaq allows companies a 180-day grace period as it has done for Gogoro, which has till Apr 28th, 2025, to rectify the issue.
The rectification of the issue is in making your securities trade above USD 1.00 on a closing basis.
This is what we wrote for Gogoro in November 2024.
With steady losses comes the problem of a falling share price, and there is a point where you start hitting the barrier called Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). On Oct 29th, Gogoro received a notice from NASDAQ indicating that for the last 30 consecutive business days, the closing bid price of the Company’s ordinary shares was below the minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share requirement outlined in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). This does not impact share trading for now, and Gogoro has 180 days to rectify the problem. The management stated that they expect a solid financial plan and outlook that will improve Gogoro’s share price. However, they did mention inorganic steps to be taken if the share price does not recover, as the NQ listing is of utmost importance.
However, in case of Zapp ELectric, Nasdaq has ruled that the company is not eligible for a 180-day grace period under Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), in which to regain compliance, because the Company cured a prior failure to comply with the Minimum Bid Price Rule using a reverse stock split in the previous twelve months.
In simple terms, in April 2024, Zapp had undertaken a 1-to-20 reverse stock split, consolidating its shareholding.
With that done, Zapp only has 30 days to get its share price to trade above USD 1.00 on a closing basis.
Zapp now plans to appeal to the hearing panel Per Listing Rule 5815(a)(5), the Company will submit to the Hearings Panel “a written plan of compliance, including if necessary a commitment to effect a reverse stock split, and request that the Panel grant an exception to the listing standards for a limited time period, as permitted by Rule 5815(c)(1) (A).”
Ola Electric
India-based Ola Electric has paid all the dues of its (ex) vendor Rosmerta Group. From Ola Electric’s media release:
For context, Rosmerta was responsible for running the registration process of Ola scooters. Ola decided to bring the process in-house and let go of its vendor. At the same time, Ola wanted to renegotiate payment for the work the vendor had already done. This work was done under an existing contract.
It is a questionable practice to renegotiate a contract on a retrospective basis for services already delivered. Ola expected a small vendor like Rosmerta to settle for a smaller sum.
Instead, Rosmerta doubled down and went to the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”), Bengaluru.
Impact
It was a foregone conclusion that Ola would have to pay up as soon as Rosmerta doubled down and took the case to NCLT. Under the law, if a company fails to pay a vendor, it indicates that it has run out of money and should be liquidated. In Indian law, insolvent companies are referred to the NCLT.
Now that the matter is settled, the Rosmerta Group has withdrawn the petition from NCLT.
However, the event casts a shadow on Ola’s management practices and judgment.
The ‘amicable settlement’ also opens the doors for suppliers with similar grievances to take a similar approach. Rosmerta had a part of Ola’s registration business. Another supplier, Shimnit, had also been let go and has a similar case.
Argentina
Motoblog Argentina reports that, responding to a request from the Chamber of Motorcycle Manufacturers of Argentina (CAFAM), the government has deferred the implementation of ABS for motorcycles above 250cc by six months.
CAFAM had requested a deferral of 12 months.
Motoblog also points out that Argentina has only one facility where ABS development can take place. They write:
“Apparently the only place available, according to the text of resolution 61/25, to carry out tests related to the ABS system is within the National University of La Plata, in the Research and Development Unit, more precisely the Applied Mechanical Testing Group -GEMA- which has the accreditation to carry out tests on the braking systems of category L vehicles -motorcycles- in accordance with the regulations, but which excludes certain items related to ABS, not for technical laboratory reasons but due to the lack of a suitable test track for this type of tests.”
Impact
This disadvantages local manufacturers as they have to plan accordingly to develop ABS systems. A six-month deferral is not a long period, certainly not enough to develop a couple of new facilities for developing ABS systems, if something has not been in the plans for now.
Honda’s first Electric ‘bike’
The first electric Honda motorcycle is here, and it is not what we expected. Also, it is unlikely to be seen outside China.
Honda has two JVs in China on the motorcycle front. They operate quite independently from Honda’s global operations, and some products remain ‘China only,’ like the U-be, U-Qe, and Zoomer e: pedelecs. Even electric scooters like the e-Pop Light, U-Go, and e-SCR Light remain China-only, though the U-Go was the base for Honda’s EM-1 electric scooter, which is more global.
Now, one of the JVs, Wuyang Honda, has received the type approval for an electric motorcycle – WH8000D. The WH stands for Wuyang-Honda, 8000 indicates the power, and D is the vehicle category code.
The styling is a mixed bag – we understand that China demands some rather quirky styling, and that explains the WH8000D on the looks department. The front tries to be a cafe racer, but then the mid-section has some rather extensive bodywork that hides everything, and we can only guess the battery is multiple MPPs.
The front wheel is 16″, and the rear is a 14″, sitting on a 1379 mm wheelbase, making this somewhere between a Grom and a CG 125 in terms of physical dimensions.
The type approval document mentions two versions with different weights. The lighter variant weighs 142 kg, and the heavier one is 156 kg. The 14 kg difference should be the addition or deletion of a battery pack.
The 8000 indicates the motor power at 8 kW (11 PS), though it may be the rated power, not the peak. The top speed of 109 kph (lighter variant) and 120 kph (heavier variant) indicates a much higher peak power.
Impact
This is not easy on the eyes, even after discounting Chinese market quirks. We do not see this becoming a global product anytime soon. However, it does reveal Honda’s thinking about EVs as we await the company’s first global electric motorcycle this year.
