HONG KONG -- When Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio in March told investors it might not have enough capital to survive another 12 months -- just a year after a high-profile US IPO -- many thought it would be the end of the five-year-old startup.
But after job cuts, an executive exodus, battery fire and vehicle recalls, there was one investor brave enough to step into help the lossmaking company: the municipal government of Hefei.
