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On January 31, shared car platform Panda issued a notice on the suspension of operation of Chongqing Panda car Rental Co., Ltd. According to the notice, due to operational reasons, Chongqing Panda car Leasing Co., Ltd. decided to suspend operations from February 1, 2021. Panda said that it has begun to assist users to refund illegal deposit and accident payment in an orderly manner. At the same time, for those users who still have a balance in the account, a corresponding refund mechanism has been launched.

Data show that Chongqing Panda car Rental Co., Ltd. was established in May 2015, is a new energy timeshare rental car company of Lifan Group. In November 2015, Panda officially entered the field of shared cars, which is the first platform to enter the field of shared travel, and has been put into operation in 11 large and medium-sized cities, including Chongqing, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Mianyang. According to the relevant survey report, Panda has an average of 330000 monthly active users, second only to GoFun and EVCARD.

However, in 2019, it was exposed that there were no vehicles available in many places, and it was difficult to refund the deposit, and then there was continuous negative news. In April 2020, Panda submitted an arbitration application to the Chongqing Arbitration Commission for compensation of 798 million yuan, citing quality problems with the vehicles. In July 2020, Panda received a large number of complaints from users. There were 20 complaint messages in a week, and most of the complaints were not dealt with by the authorities.

In the plight of Panda car, Lifan Group is also having a hard time. Data show that Lifan sold 25627 vehicles in 2019, including 22536 traditional passenger cars and 3091 new energy vehicles. Sales in 2020 were 2411, including 1348 traditional passenger cars and 1063 new energy vehicles.

According to the financial report, Lifan's operating income in 2019 was 1.45 billion yuan, down 32.35% from the same period last year, while the net loss was 4.682 billion yuan, down 1950.83% from the same period last year. In the first three quarters of 2020, Lifan Motor achieved operating income of 2.606 billion yuan, down 61.02% from the same period last year, and net profit was-3.445 billion yuan, down 30.82% from the same period last year.

In August 2020, Lifan shares were applied to the court for bankruptcy reorganization by suppliers because they were unable to pay off their maturing debts. At the same time, Lifan was warned of the risk of delisting. In October 2020, Lifan controlling shareholders Yin Mingshan, Chen Qiaofeng, Yin Xidi and Yin Suowei were placed on file for investigation on suspicion of illegal information disclosure. In December 2020, Lifan's controlling shareholder was changed into Chongqing Manjianghong Equity Investment Fund Partnership (limited partnership), and Chongqing Manjianghong Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. will become the actual controller of the company. On January 26, 2021, Lifan Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. was officially listed, the new leadership, new company name, new enterprise LOGO, new products, Lifan is indirectly controlled by Geely.

After Geely joins Lifan, Lifan may get new development opportunities. However, as a shared car platform under Lifan, Panda failed to usher in its own "white knight".

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