BEIJING, Oct 10 Reuters Chinese electric vehicle startup WM Motor has filed for bankruptcy, marking the demise of a promising standout among China EV makers as price competition in the world39;s largest auto market heats up.

A court in Shanghai is handling the bankruptcy case, according to a filing dated Monday on the national enterprise bankruptcy information disclosure platform.

U.S.listed secondhand car dealer Kaixin Auto Holdings had announced in September a nonbinding acquisition term sheet with the troubled EV maker.

The deal came after WM Motor39;s backdoor listing through a reverse takeover with Hong Konglisted Apollo Future Mobility fell through.

The failed deal was seen as a survival move after two previous fruitless attempts by WM Motor to seek a listing in Shanghai39;s STAR Market and Hong Kong.

Founded in 2015 by renowned auto veteran Freeman Shen, WM Motor was seen to be among rising Chinese EV startups Nio, Li Auto and XPeng. Its backers included Chinese tech giant Baidu and Shanghai39;s stateowned asset regulator.

But the Shanghaibased startup was struggling to eke out profits in the capitalintensive auto sector.

WM Motor39;s annual losses doubled to 8.2 billion yuan 1.13 billion over the three years to 2021, according to its stock prospectus released in June 2022 for a planned Hong Kong IPO.

China39;s passenger vehicle sales returned to growth in August yearonyear, ending a streak of losses since May, as deeper discounts and tax breaks for green…