Chinese flying taxi maker EHang denies short seller’s fraud claims after US shares plunge 63 per cent
- A report by short seller Wolfpack Research has put in question drone maker EHang’s financial data
- A US securities litigation firm said it is investigating EHang for potential violations of federal securities laws
Nasdaq-listed EHang said in a statement issued on the same day that Wolfpack’s report about the firm was “deceptive” and contained “numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements and misinterpretation of information”, without elaborating.
The report, which was published on Tuesday, described EHang as “an elaborate stock promotion, built on largely fabricated revenues based on sham sales contracts with a customer who appears to us to be more interested in helping inflate the value of its investment” in the company.
It also accused EHang’s major customer, Shanghai Kunxiang Intelligent Technology, of signing “sham sales contracts to benefit its investment” in the Guangzhou-based flying taxi maker.
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Flying taxi developed by Chinese and Austrian companies takes off in Vienna
EHang’s share price closed 62.7 per cent lower at US$46.30 on Tuesday. The company had seen its stock soar since it debuted on Nasdaq in December 2019, reaching US$124.09 last Friday.
The company emphasised that it will “consider any necessary and appropriate course of action to protect” its interests and those of its shareholders.
An EHang spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the company will release a more detailed rebuttal of Wolfpack’s allegations.
The 33-page report published by Wolfpack said it had “gathered extensive evidence, including behind-the-scenes photographs, recorded phone calls and videos of on-site visits” to EHang’s various facilities, as well as Kunxiang’s offices.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, Boston-based securities litigation firm Block & Leviton said that it is investigating EHang for potential violations of federal securities laws.
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Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Ehang’s flying taxi
EHang, which describes itself as the “world’s leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company”, said in a press release in January that it completed a test flight of its two-seater, passenger-grade AAV in the US.
The company already has a licence to operate its mobility services in Guangzhou and expected to start operating a line of commercial flying cars soon, EHang co-founder Derric Xiong told the South China Morning Post in an earlier interview.
EHang, however, still faces a number of regulatory issues, covering public safety concerns to personnel training and equipment maintenance, before its commercial flying taxi operations take off.
