Human Horizons, the parent company of EV maker HiPhi, has filed for bankruptcy in China, putting the future of the company into doubt.

The carmaker seemed to have been struggling financially for a while, halting production around six months ago. Now, the company that owns HiPhi has had its pre-reorganization application accepted by the Yancheng Economic and Technological Development Zone People’s Court, citing its inability to cover its debts that are now exceeding its assets. This means the court acknowledged the company’s insolvency, but it did note the potential for restructuring.

The pre-reorganization period now gives Human Horizons six months—plus three more months if needed—to get its affairs in order and find new investors. The process is similar to what Recaro Automotive is currently undergoing in Germany, whereby the management stays in place but import any  decisions have to be approved by an insolvency administrator.

HiPhi has essentially entered the last-chance saloon, and if this rescue mechanism doesn’t work, then the next step would almost certainly be complete bankruptcy. The company suspended its operations back in February and tried various cost-cutting measures that so far don’t seem to have worked.

HiPhi was founded in 2017 and had ambitious plans to establish itself as a high-performance EV brand. The Chinese outfit even presented a family-size supercar not too long ago, and had plans to sell its vehicles (such as the X-, Y- and Z-named models) all over the globe.

Now, the pressure is mounting to find an investor willing to take a chance on the brand. While its cars did look sleek and sales plans were ambitious, the realities of a changing global EV market and an ever more competitive landscape back home seemed to have resulted in a sharp reality check. The next few months will decide if HiPhi can fly high or will crash down and burn for good.