(Yicai Global) July 4 -- WM Motor, a Chinese electric car startup in dire straits, said a court order restricting high-level consumption by Chief Executive Officer Shen Hui has been revoked and stressed that it will get back to production in the near future.

WM Motor is fully engaged in user services, is repaying debts in an orderly manner in accordance with the law, and is actively facilitating auto exports, the Shanghai-based company also said through its official social media account today.

The restriction on Shen’s consumption was added recently, according to corporate information app Qichacha. To ensure debt repayment, Chinese courts often limit a debtor’s high-level spending, including taking flights and staying in luxury hotels.

According to WM Motor’s official Weibo account, media reports previously stated that Shen’s consumption had been restricted. And, after verification, the ban has now been revoked, the reports added.

WM Motor was once a leader among China’s NEV startups. But amid fierce competition, its has had many difficulties over recent years.

In the first 11 months of last year, WM Motor sold 29,437 vehicles, down 25 percent from a year ago, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Rivals Nio, Xpeng Motors, Li Auto, Hozon Auto, and Leap Motor delivered more than 100,000 cars each in the same period.

Last November, Shen issued an open letter saying that from October, M4 level managers and above would voluntarily halve their basic pay, while other employees would get 70 percent of their basic pay.

In December, per the court’s ruling, WM Motor’s assets worth over CNY70 million (USD9.7 million) were frozen. Equity worth about CNY4 billion (USD554.4 million) was frozen in March and the following month equities owned by WM Motor and worth almost CNY500 million were also made inaccessible, according to corporate information provider Tianyancha.

Editors: Shi Yi, Peter Thomas