(Bloomberg) -- China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd., the electric vehicle unit of defaulted developer China Evergrande Group, said liquidators have ended talks with a potential buyer for a stake in the company.

Liquidators representing the owners of Evergrande NEV informed the automaker they have ceased all discussions with an unidentified investor for the sale of an initial 29% stake, with an option to buy an additional 29.5% later, the company said in an exchange filing on Friday night. Under the preliminary agreement reached in May, the potential buyer may also extend a new line of credit to support production.

The liquidators “are continuing to seek to locate possible buyers and identify possible opportunities to divest the shares held by them,” but so far “no definite opportunity has been identified,” Evergrande NEV said in the statement. 

The EV maker, which initially aimed to take on Tesla Inc. and once had a market value that topped Ford Motor Co., was swept up in a debt crisis that engulfed its parent. The company reported a net loss for the first half-year of 20.26 billion yuan ($2.85 billion), nearly triple its loss in the same period last year. The company produced only 1,700 of its Hengchi EVs as of the end of 2023, and its Tianjin factory suspended production this year. 

Shares of Evergrande EV will resume trading in Hong Kong on Oct. 28 after being suspended on Friday. The stock has declined 34% this year, compared with a 21% gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. 

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