Do you know Hopium? This young French brand was created in 2019 by French driver Olivier Lombard and is dedicated exclusively to the design of luxury cars that run on water. A bold bet for a manufacturer that took its first steps in front of the public at the last Paris Motor Show. The appearance of his very first Hopium Machina Vision car, which later took on the shape of a large one, is prominent high class sedan which must be collected in Normandy. On paper, this all sounds promising. But what is it really? Well, actually the situation is a little different.
There is an exception to the end of sales of diesel cars in 2035, voted by the European Parliament: luxury cars (Ferrari, etc.). Of course, there are not many of them, so the emissions will be limited, but for the symbol and social justice, it will be necessary to return pic.twitter.com/6gPS9lc6ZE
— Audrey Garric (@audreygarric) June 9, 2022
Great difficulties
Indeed, now the French manufacturer is in a very bad situation, which has been going on for several months. And not for nothing, last July the commercial court of Paris announced the bankruptcy of the latter, and it seems that its problems are still not solved. Indeed, the firm just released its results for the first half of 2023, and they’re not exactly brilliant. In fact, the losses are 24.7 million euros, while the cash flow shows only €88,000. Suffice it to say, this is not enough to complete the project.
What is the result?
From now on, the young producer has only time until January 19 to try to save his skin by finding enough funds. Which seems very challenging for a company that currently has 85 employees and continues to develop its fuel cell technology. But is it in danger of disappearing? Well, it may still be saved by the arrival of a new American investor specializing in urban mobility. The latter could take the shares of the French company and save it in the long run. But nothing has been decided yet.
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Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.