UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

Or

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Commission File Number: 000-33123

CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code – (86) 716-412-7901

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. 

Yes  ¨              No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. 

Yes  ¨              No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes  x               No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes  x               No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, ” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes  ¨              No  x

The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2020, based upon the price of $2.89 that was the closing price of the common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “CAAS” on such date, was approximately $31.8 million.

The Company has 30,851,776 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of March 30, 2021.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None. 

CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC.

FORM 10-K

INDEX

Cautionary Statement

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements relate to future events or the Company’s future financial performance. The Company has attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “can,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the matters set forth in this Annual Report or other reports or documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the “SEC,” from time to time, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those projected. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company’s expectations are as of the date this Form 10-K is filed, and the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date this Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed to confirm these statements to actual results, unless required by law.

PART I

COMPANY HISTORY

China Automotive Systems, Inc., “China Automotive” or the “Company,” was incorporated in the State of Delaware on June 29, 1999. Through its subsidiary, Great Genesis Holdings Limited, “Genesis,” a corporation organized under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, it owns interests in eight Sino-joint ventures and six wholly-owned subsidiaries in the People’s Republic of China, “China” or the “PRC,” which manufacture power steering systems and/or related products for different segments of the automobile industry. Genesis also owns interests in a Brazil-based trading company, which engages mainly in the import and sales of automotive parts in Brazil.

Henglong USA Corporation, “HLUSA,” which was incorporated on January 8, 2007 in Troy, Michigan, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and mainly engages in marketing of automotive parts in North America, and provides after sales service and research and development (“R&D”) support.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the Company uses the terms “the Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” to refer to China Automotive collectively on a consolidated basis.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

The Company is a holding company and has no significant business operations or assets other than its interest in Genesis and HLUSA. Genesis mainly engages in the manufacture and sale of automotive systems and components through its controlled subsidiaries and the joint ventures, as described below.

Set forth below is an organizational chart as at December 31, 2020.

The Company has business relationships with more than sixty vehicle manufacturers, including Great Wall Motors Company Limited (“Great Wall Motors”), and FAW Group, two of the five largest automobile manufacturers in China; Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Co., Ltd, the largest light vehicle manufacturer in China; Chery Automobile Co., Ltd., the largest state-owned car manufacturer in China, and BYD Auto Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Geely Automobile Co., Ltd., the largest privately owned car manufacturers in China. The PRC-based joint ventures of General Motors (GM), Citroen and Fiat Chrysler North America are all key customers of the Company. Starting in 2008, the Company has supplied power steering gears to the Sino-foreign joint ventures established by GM, Citroen and Volkswagen in China. The Company has supplied power steering gear to Fiat Chrysler North America since 2009 and to Ford Motor Company since 2016.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Intellectual Property rights, “IP,” are important in helping the Company maintain its competitive position. Currently, the Company owns IP rights, including two trademarks covering automobile parts, “HL” and “JL,” and more than eighty-five patents registered in China covering power steering technology. The Company is in the process of integrating new advanced technologies such as electronic chips in power steering systems into its current production line and is pursuing aggressive strategies in technology to maintain a competitive edge within the automobile industry. In December 2009, the Company, through Henglong, formed Testing Center and cooperated with Nanyang Ind. Co. Ltd. and Tsinghua University to engage in the research and development of new products, such as Electric Power Steering (“EPS”), integral rack and pinion power steering and high pressure power steering, to optimize current products design and to develop new, cost-saving manufacturing processes. In January 2015, Hubei Henglong formed Shanghai Henglong, which mainly engages in the design and sale of automotive electronics, to capture the market opportunities for EPS, which were included in traditional hydraulic power steering products by many automobile makers. In November 2017, Hubei Henglong formed Jingzhou Qingyan Intelligent Automotive Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., which mainly engages in the research and development of intelligent automotive technology. In August 2018, Hubei Henglong established a non-wholly owned subsidiary, Hubei Henglong KYB Automobile Electric Steering System Co., Ltd., which mainly engages in design, manufacture, sales and after-sales service of automobile electronic systems. In March 2019, Hubei Henglong established a non-wholly owned subsidiary, Hyoseong (Wuhan) Motion Mechatronics System Co., Ltd., which mainly engages in the design, manufacture and sales of automotive motors and electromechanical integrated systems. In December 2019, Hubei Henglong formed Wuhu Hongrun New Material Co., Ltd. (“Wuhu Hongrun”), which mainly engages in the development, manufacturing and sale of high polymer materials. In April 2020, Hubei Henglong acquired 100.0% of the equity interests of Changchun Hualong Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., “Changchun Hualong”, which mainly engages in design and R&D of automotive parts.

STRATEGIC PLAN

The Company’s short to medium term strategic plan is to focus on both domestic and international market expansion. To achieve this goal and higher profitability, the Company focuses on brand recognition, quality control, cost efficiency, research and development and strategic acquisitions. Set forth below are the Company’s programs:

CUSTOMERS

The Company’s five largest customers represented 47.1% of the Company’s total sales for the year ended December 31, 2020. The following table sets forth information regarding the Company’s five largest customers.

The Company primarily sells its products to the above-mentioned customers, which, except for Hubei Hongrun, are original equipment manufacturing, “OEM”, customers; it also has excellent relationships with them, including serving as their first-rank supplier and developer for product development for new models. While the Company intends to continue to focus on retaining and winning this business, it cannot ensure that it will succeed in doing so. It is difficult to keep doing business with the above mentioned OEM customers as a result of severe price competition and customers’ diversification of their supply base. The Company’s business would be materially and adversely affected if it loses one or more of these major customers.

SALES AND MARKETING

The Company’s sales and marketing team has 91 sales persons, which are divided into an OEM team, a sales service team and a working group dedicated to international business. These sales and marketing teams provide a constant interface with the Company’s key customers. They are located in all major vehicle producing regions to more effectively represent the Company’s customers’ interests within the Company’s organization, to promote their programs and to coordinate their strategies with the goal of enhancing overall service and satisfaction. The Company’s ability to support its customers is further enhanced by its broad presence in terms of sales offices, manufacturing facilities, engineering technology centers and joint ventures.

The Company’s sales and marketing organization and activities are designed to create overall awareness and consideration of, and therefore to increase sales of the Company’s modular systems and components. To achieve that objective, the Company organized delegations to visit the United States, Korea, India and Japan and has supplied power steering gear to Fiat Chrysler North America. Through these activities, the Company has generated potential business interest as a strong base for future development.

DISTRIBUTION

The Company’s distribution system covers all of China. The Company has established sales and service offices with certain significant customers to deal with matters related to such customers in a timely fashion. The Company also established distribution warehouses close to major customers to ensure timely deliveries. The Company maintains strict control over inventories. Each of these sales and service offices sends back to the Company, through e-mail or fax, information related to the inventory and customers’ needs. The Company guarantees product delivery in 8 hours for those customers who are located within 200 km from the Company’s distribution warehouses, and 24 hours for customers who are located outside of 200 km from the Company’s distribution warehouses. Delivery time is a very important competitive factor in terms of customer decision making, together with quality, pricing and long-term relationships. The Company has two distribution warehouses in the United States, which are located in Michigan and Texas, respectively. The warehouses deliver parts to customers every day.

EMPLOYEES AND FACILITIES

As of December 31, 2020, the Company employed approximately 4,688 persons, including approximately: 

As of December 31, 2020, Henglong, Jiulong, Shenyang, Chongqing, Wuhan Chuguanjie, Hubei Henglong and Wuhu had a manufacturing and administration area of 111,211 square meters, 39,478 square meters, 35,354 square meters, 57,849 square meters, 53,675 square meters, 277,269 square meters and 83,705 square meters, respectively.

Hubei Province, which is home to Dongfeng, one of the largest automakers in China, provides an ample supply of inexpensive but skilled labor to automotive-related industries. The annual production of one of the Company’s main products, power steering gears, was approximately 7.5 million units and 5.5 million units in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Although the production process continues to rely heavily on manual labor, the Company has invested substantially in high-level production machinery to improve capacity and production quality. Approximately $78.7 million was spent over the last three years to purchase professional-grade equipment and extend workshops.

RAW MATERIALS

The Company purchases various manufactured components and raw materials for use in its manufacturing processes. The principal components and raw materials the Company purchases include castings, finished sub-components, aluminum, steel, fabricated metal electronic parts and molded plastic parts. The most important raw material is steel. The Company enters into purchase agreements with local suppliers. The annual purchase plans are determined at the beginning of the calendar year but are subject to revision every three months as a result of customers’ orders. A purchase order is made according to monthly production plans. This protects the Company from building up inventory when the orders from customers change.

The Company’s purchases from its ten largest suppliers represented in the aggregate 22.8% of all components and raw materials it purchased for the year ended December 31, 2020, and none of them provided more than 10% of total purchases.

All components and raw materials are available from numerous sources. The Company has not, in recent years, experienced any significant shortages of manufactured components or raw materials and normally does not carry inventories of these items in excess of what is reasonably required to meet its production and shipping schedules.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Company owns the Testing Center, a Hubei Provincial-Level technical center, which has been approved by the Hubei Economic Commission. The center has a staff of about 164, including 68 engineers, primarily focusing on steering system R&D, tests, production process improvement and new material and production methodology application.

In addition, the Company has formed Shanghai Henglong to engage in the design and sale of automotive electronics, including key parts of EPS.

The Company believes that its engineering and technical expertise, together with its emphasis on continuing research and development, allow it to use the latest technologies, materials and processes to solve problems for its customers and to bring new, innovative products to market. The Company believes that continued research and development activities, including engineering, are critical to maintaining its pipeline of technologically advanced products. The Company has aggressively managed costs in other portions of its business in order to increase its total expenditures for research and development activities, including engineering, at approximately $25.7 million and $28.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. In 2020 and 2019, the sales of such newly developed products accounted for about 14.8% and 19.1%, respectively, of total sales.

COMPETITION

The automotive components industry is extremely competitive. The Company’s customers consider criteria including quality, price/cost competitiveness, system and product performance, reliability and timeliness of delivery, new product and technology development capability, excellence and flexibility in operations, degree of global and local presence, effectiveness of customer service and overall management capability. The power steering system market is fragmented in China, and the Company has seven major competitors. Of these competitors, two are Sino-foreign joint ventures while the other five are state-owned. Like many competitive industries, there is pressure on downward selling prices.

The Company’s major competitors, including Shanghai ZF, Nexteer and First Auto FKS, “FKS,” are component suppliers to specific automobile manufacturers. Shanghai ZF is the joint venture of SAIC and ZF Germany, which is an exclusive supplier to SAIC-Volkswagen and SAIC-GM. FKS is a joint venture between First Auto Group and Japan’s Koyo Company and its main customer is FAW-Volkswagen Company.

While the Chinese government limits foreign ownership of auto assemblers to 50%, there is no analogous limitation in the automotive components industry. Thus, opportunities exist for foreign component suppliers to set up factories in China. These overseas competitors employ technology that may be more advanced and may have existing relationships with global automobile assemblers, but they are generally not as competitive as the Company in China in terms of production cost and flexibility in meeting client requirements.

CHINESE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

The Company is a supplier of automotive parts and most of its operations are located in China. An increase or decrease in the output and sales of Chinese vehicles could result in an increase or decrease of the Company’s results of operations. According to the latest statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, “CAAM”, the output and sales volume of passenger vehicles in 2020 was 20.0 million and 20.2 million units respectively, a decrease of 6.5% and 6.0%, respectively, compared to 2019. The output and sales volume of commercial vehicles in 2020 was 5.2 million and 5.1 million units, respectively, an increase of 20.0% and 18.7%, respectively, compared to 2019. In 2020, the Company’s sales of steering gears for passenger vehicles decreased by 7.8% and the sales of steering gears for commercial vehicles increased by 12.1%, compared to 2019 in China.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

The Company is subject to the requirements of U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S., including China’s, environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations. These include laws regulating air emissions, water discharge and waste management. The Company has an environmental management structure designed to facilitate and support its compliance with these requirements globally. Although the Company intends to comply with all such requirements and regulations, it cannot provide assurance that it is at all times in compliance. The Company has made and will continue to make capital and other expenditures to comply with environmental requirements, although such expenditures were not material during the past two years. Environmental requirements are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. Accordingly, the Company cannot assure that environmental requirements will not change or become more stringent over time or that its eventual environmental cleanup costs and liabilities will not be material.

During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company did not make any material capital expenditures relating to environmental compliance.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

Financial information about sales and long-term assets by major geographic region can be found in Note 26, “Segment Reporting” to the consolidated financial statements in this Report. The following table summarizes the percentage of sales and total assets by major geographic regions:

WEBSITE ACCESS TO SEC FILINGS

The Company files electronically with, or furnishes to, the SEC its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company makes available free of charge on its web site (www.caasauto.com) all such reports as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed.

The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy information and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

Any investment in the Company’s securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with the information contained elsewhere in this Annual Report, before you make a decision to invest in the Company. The Company’s business, financial conditions and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by many risk factors. Because of these risk factors, actual results might differ significantly from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, among others, the following:

RISKS RELATED TO THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

The cyclical nature of automotive production and sales could result in a reduction in automotive sales, which could adversely affect the Company’s business and results of operations.

The Company’s business relies on automotive vehicle production and sales by its customers, which are highly cyclical and depend on general economic conditions and other factors, including consumer spending and preferences and the price and availability of gasoline. They also can be affected by labor relations issues, regulatory requirements and other factors. In the last two years, the price of automobiles in China has generally declined. Additionally, the volume of automotive production in China has fluctuated from year to year, which gives rise to fluctuations in the demand for the Company’s products. Therefore, any significant economic decline could result in a reduction in automotive production and sales by the Company’s customers and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations. Moreover, if the prices of automobiles keep declining, the selling price of automotive parts also would decrease, which would result in lower revenues and profitability.

Increasing costs for manufactured components and raw materials may adversely affect the Company’s profitability.

The Company uses a broad range of manufactured components and raw materials in its products, including castings, electronic components, finished sub-components, molded plastic parts, fabricated metal, aluminum, steel and resins. Because it may be difficult to pass increased prices for these items on to the Company’s customers, a significant increase in the prices of the Company’s components and materials could materially increase the Company’s operating costs and adversely affect its profit margins and profitability.

Because the Company is a holding company with substantially all of its operations conducted through its subsidiaries, its performance will be affected by the performance of its subsidiaries.

The Company almost has no operations independent of those of Genesis and its subsidiaries, and the Company’s principal assets are its investments in Genesis and its subsidiaries and affiliates. As a result, the Company is dependent upon the performance of Genesis and its subsidiaries and will be subject to the financial, business and other factors affecting Genesis as well as general economic and financial conditions. As substantially all of the Company’s operations are, and will be, conducted through its subsidiaries, the Company will be dependent on the cash flow of its subsidiaries to meet its obligations.

Because virtually all of the Company’s assets are, and will be, held by operating subsidiaries, the claims of the Company’s stockholders will be structurally subordinate to all existing and future liabilities, obligations and trade payables of such subsidiaries. In the event of the Company’s bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, its assets and those of its subsidiaries will be available to satisfy the claims of the Company’s stockholders only after all of its and its subsidiaries’ liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.

With the automobile parts markets being highly competitive and many of the Company’s competitors having greater resources than it does, the Company may not be able to compete successfully.

The automobile parts industry is a highly competitive business. The Company’s customers consider criteria including:

The Company’s competitors include independent suppliers of parts, as well as suppliers formed by spin-offs from the Company’s customers, who are becoming more aggressive in selling parts to other vehicle manufacturers. Depending on the particular product, the number of the Company’s competitors varies significantly. Many of the Company’s competitors have substantially greater revenues and financial resources than it does, as well as stronger brand names, consumer recognition, business relationships with vehicle manufacturers, and geographic presence than it has. The Company may not be able to compete favorably and increased competition may substantially harm its business, business prospects and results of operations.

Internationally, the Company faces different market dynamics and competition. The Company may not be as successful as its competitors in generating revenues in international markets due to the lack of recognition of its products or other factors. Developing product recognition overseas is expensive and time-consuming and the Company’s international expansion efforts may be more costly and less profitable than it expects. If the Company is not successful in its target markets, its sales could decline, its margins could be negatively impacted and it could lose market share, any of which could materially harm the Company’s business, results of operations and profitability.

Pricing pressure by automobile manufacturers on their suppliers may adversely affect the Company’s business and results of operations.

Recently, pricing pressure from automobile manufacturers has been prevalent in the automotive parts industry in China. Virtually all vehicle manufacturers seek price reductions each year. Although the Company has tried to reduce costs and resist price reductions, these reductions have impacted the Company’s sales and profit margins. If the Company cannot offset continued price reductions through improved operating efficiencies and reduced expenditures, price reductions will have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.

The Company’s business, revenues and profitability would be materially and adversely affected if it loses any of its large customers.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately 23.6%, 7.3%, 6.0%, 5.9% and 4.3% of the Company’s sales were to Fiat Chrysler North America, Great Wall Motors, Hubei Hongrun, Beiqi Foton and Dongfeng Auto Group, the Company’s five largest customers in 2020, respectively. In total, these five largest customers accounted for 47.1% of total sales in 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2019, approximately 22.7%, 9.7%, 6.2%, 4.7% and 4.1% of the Company’s sales were to Fiat Chrysler North America, Beiqi Foton, Great Wall Motors, Ford Motor Company and Dongfeng Auto Group, the Company’s five largest customers in 2019, respectively. In total, these five largest customers accounted for 47.4% of total sales in 2019.  The loss of, or significant reduction in purchases by, one or more of these major customers could adversely affect the Company’s business.

The Company may not be able to collect receivables incurred by customers.

The Company currently sells its products on credit and its ability to receive payment for its products depends on the continued creditworthiness of its customers. Although the Company has long-term relationships with its major customers, the customer base may change if its sales increase because of the Company’s expanded capacity. If the Company is not able to collect its receivables, its profitability will be adversely affected.

In November 2020, Intermediate People's Court of Shenyang, Liaoning province, China, accepted the bankruptcy reorganization application of one of our customers. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had accounts and notes receivable with a total amount of $6.4 million due from this customer and its subsidiaries, which receivables we considered in significant doubt of collectability. As a result, the Company provided full allowance for these receivables.

The Company may be subject to product liability and warranty and recall claims, which may increase the costs of doing business and adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and liquidity.

The Company may be exposed to product liability and warranty claims if its products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected or the use of its products results, or is alleged to result, in bodily injury and/or property damage. The Company started to pay some of its customers’ increased after-sales service expenses due to consumer rights protection policies of “recall” issued by the Chinese government in 2004, such as the recalling flawed vehicles policy. Beginning in 2004, automobile manufacturers unilaterally required their suppliers to pay a “3-R Guarantees” service charge for repair, replacement and refund in an amount of about 2%–6% of the total amount of parts supplied. Accordingly, the Company has experienced and will continue to experience higher after-sales service expenses. Product liability, warranty and recall costs may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition.

On January 3, 2017, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Chongqing Changan”) registered a recall plan with The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (“AQSIQ”) pursuant to the “Regulation on the Administration of Recall of Defective Auto Products”. The recall plan relates to the recall of 108,642 Eulove vehicles manufactured between November 7, 2012 and November 13, 2015. The recall commenced on March 1, 2017. According to the supplier, the torque sensor on the upper steering shaft subassembly in the recalled vehicles is subject to abnormal wear after long-term usage, posing a safety risk in extreme situations. Chongqing Changan implemented a recall to replace the upper steering shaft subassembly in the recalled vehicles free of charge to mitigate the safety risk. The case closed in 2019.

On January 22, 2017, Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Jiangxi Changhe”) registered a recall plan with AQSIQ pursuant to the “Regulation on the Administration of Recall of Defective Auto Products”. The recall plan relates to the recall of 44,169 Liana A6 vehicles manufactured between September 7, 2013 and April 28, 2015. The recall commenced on February 24, 2017. According to the supplier, the electronic-assist ECU may malfunction under certain circumstances, which may lead the steering assist to enter safety protection status, posing a safety risk in extreme situations. Jiangxi Changhe implemented the recall to conduct a technical upgrade of the ECU in the recalled vehicles free of charge to mitigate the safety risk. The case closed in 2019.

Management has concluded that the defect that led to each of the recalls arose due to the erosion of the contact sensor after long-term use only in vehicles equipped with first-generation EPS. The Company has taken technical measures to reduce the contact sensor erosion in first-generation EPS. The contact sensors in current EPS products have been largely replaced by non-contact sensors.

The Company is subject to environmental and safety regulations, which may increase the Company’s compliance costs and may adversely affect its results of operations.

The Company is subject to the requirements of environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations in China. The Company cannot provide assurance that it has been or will be at all times in full compliance with all of these requirements, or that it will not incur material costs or liabilities in connection with these requirements. Additionally, these regulations may change in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition. The capital requirements and other expenditures that may be necessary to comply with environmental requirements could increase and become a material expense of doing business.

Non-performance by the Company’s suppliers may adversely affect its operations by delaying delivery or causing delivery failures, which may negatively affect demand, sales and profitability.

The Company purchases various types of equipment, raw materials and manufactured component parts from its suppliers. The Company would be materially and adversely affected by the failure of its suppliers to perform as expected. The Company could experience delivery delays or failures caused by production issues or delivery of non-conforming products if its suppliers fail to perform, and it also faces these risks in the event any of its suppliers becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

The Company’s business and growth may suffer if it fails to attract and retain key personnel.

The Company’s ability to operate its business and implement its strategies effectively depends on the efforts of its executive officers and other key employees. The Company depends on the continued contributions of its senior management and other key personnel. The Company’s future success also depends on its ability to identify, attract and retain highly skilled technical staff, particularly engineers and other employees with mechanics and electronics expertise, and managerial, finance and marketing personnel. The Company does not maintain a key person life insurance policy on Mr. Hanlin Chen or Mr. Qizhou Wu. The loss of the services of any of the Company’s key employees or the failure to attract or retain other qualified personnel could substantially harm the Company’s business.

The Company’s management controls approximately 63.8% of its outstanding common stock and may have conflicts of interest with the Company’s minority stockholders.

As of December 31, 2020, members of the Company’s management beneficially own approximately 63.8% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock. As a result, except for the related party transactions that require approval of the audit committee of the board of directors of the Company, these majority stockholders have control over decisions to enter into any corporate transaction, which could result in the approval of transactions that might not maximize overall stockholders’ value. Additionally, these stockholders control the election of members of the Company’s board, have the ability to appoint new members to the Company’s management team and control the outcome of matters submitted to a vote of the holders of the Company’s common stock. The interests of these majority stockholders may at times conflict with the interests of the Company’s other stockholders. The Company regularly engages in transactions with entities controlled by one or more of its officers and directors, including those controlled by Mr. Hanlin Chen, the chairman of the board of directors of the Company and its controlling stockholder.

There is a limited public float of the Company’s common stock, which can result in the Company’s stock price being volatile and prevent the realization of a profit on resale of the Company’s common stock or derivative securities.

There is a limited public float of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2020, approximately 36.2% of the Company’s outstanding common stock is considered part of the public float. The term “public float” refers to shares freely and actively tradable on the NASDAQ Capital Market and not owned by officers, directors or affiliates, as such term is defined under the Securities Act. As a result of the limited public float and the limited trading volume on some days, the market price of the Company’s common stock can be volatile, and relatively small changes in the demand for or supply of the Company’s common stock can have a disproportionate effect on the market price for its common stock. This stock price volatility could prevent a security holder seeking to sell the Company’s common stock or derivative securities from being able to sell them at or above the price at which the stock or derivative securities were bought, or at a price which a fully liquid market would report.

The Company is subject to penny stock regulations and restrictions.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stock” as an equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. As of December 31, 2020, the closing price for the Company’s common stock was $6.24. If the Company’s stock is a “penny stock”, it may become subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “Penny Stock Rule.” This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors,” generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1.0 million or annual incomes exceeding $0.2 million, or $0.3 million together with their spouses. For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule may affect the ability of broker-dealers to sell the Company’s securities and may affect the ability of purchasers to sell any of the Company’s securities in the secondary market.

For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure also is required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.

There can be no assurance that the Company’s common stock will qualify for exemption from the Penny Stock Rule. In any event, even if the Company’s common stock were exempt from the Penny Stock Rule, the Company would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the SEC the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock if the SEC finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.

Provisions in the Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the General Corporation Law of Delaware may discourage a takeover attempt.

Provisions in the Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the General Corporation Law of Delaware, the state in which it is organized, could make it difficult for a third party to acquire the Company, even if doing so might be beneficial to the Company’s stockholders. Provisions of the Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it difficult for stockholders to effect certain corporate actions and possibly prevent transactions that would maximize stockholders’ value.

Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and the trading price of its shares.

The Company is subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the “SEC,” as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management in its annual report that contains an assessment by management of the effectiveness of such company’s internal control over financial reporting.

If the Company fails to maintain the adequacy of its internal controls in the future, it will not be able to ensure that it can conclude on an ongoing basis that it has effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for the Company to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent fraud. Any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of the Company’s financial statements, which in turn could harm its business and negatively impact the trading price of its common stock. Furthermore, the Company may need to incur additional costs and use additional management and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other requirements going forward.

The Company generally does not pay cash dividends on its common stock.

Although the Company announced a special cash dividend of $0.18 per common share to the Company’s shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 26, 2014, it does not anticipate paying any other cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company currently intends to retain future earnings, if any, to finance operations and the expansion of its business. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and will be based upon the Company’s financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, plans for expansion, restrictions imposed by any financing arrangements and any other factors that the Company’s board of directors deems relevant.

Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the Company’s common stock.

Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is in the short seller’s best interests for the price of the stock to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its business prospects in order to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a stock short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.

In the recent past, public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity has centered around allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, many of these companies are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.

It is not clear what effect such negative publicity would have on the Company, if any. If the Company were to become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, the Company could have to expend a significant amount of resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend itself. While the Company would strongly defend against any such short seller attacks, the Company may be constrained in the manner in which it can proceed against the relevant short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming, and could distract the Company’s management from growing the Company. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against the Company could severely impact its business operations and stockholders’ equity, and any investment in the Company’s stock could be greatly reduced or rendered worthless. 

 The Company’s secured credit facilities contain certain financial covenants that it may not satisfy, which, if not satisfied, could result in the acceleration of the amounts due under the Company’s secured credit facilities and the limitation of the Company’s ability to borrow additional funds in the future.

The agreements governing the Company’s secured credit facilities subject it to various financial and other restrictive covenants with which the Company must comply on an ongoing or periodic basis. These covenants include, but are not limited to, restrictions on the utilization of the funds and the maintenance of certain financial ratios. If the Company violates any of these covenants, the Company’s outstanding debt under the Company’s secured credit facilities could become immediately due and payable, the Company’s lenders could proceed against any collateral securing such indebtedness and the Company’s ability to borrow additional funds in the future may be limited. Alternatively, the Company could be forced to refinance or renegotiate the terms and conditions of the Company’s secured credit facilities, including the interest rates, financial and restrictive covenants and security requirements of the secured credit facilities, on terms that may be significantly less favorable to the Company.

Our business operations have been and may continue to be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan city, Hubei province, PRC, where the Company’s headquarters is located, in December 2019 and has been expanding within the PRC and globally. The new strain of COVID-19 is considered to be highly contagious and poses a serious public health threat. On January 23, 2020, the PRC government announced the lockdown of Wuhan city in an attempt to quarantine the city. Since then, other measures including travel restrictions have been imposed in other major cities in the PRC and throughout the world in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The World Health Organization (the “WHO”) is closely monitoring and evaluating the situation. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic, expanding its assessment of the threat beyond the global health emergency it had announced in January. As our headquarters are located in Wuhan, we closed our headquarters effective January 23, 2020 and reopened in late March 2020.

Any outbreak of such epidemic illness or other adverse public health developments in the PRC or elsewhere in the world may materially and adversely affect the global economy, our markets and our business.

We cannot foresee whether the pandemic of COVID-19 will be effectively contained, nor can we predict the severity and duration of its impact. If the pandemic of COVID-19 is not effectively and timely controlled, our business operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected as a result of the deteriorating market outlook for automobile sales, the slowdown in regional and national economic growth, weakened liquidity and financial condition of our customers or other factors that we cannot foresee. Any of these factors and other factors beyond our control could have an adverse effect on the overall business environment, cause uncertainties in the regions where we conduct business, cause our business to suffer in ways that we cannot predict and materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

RISKS RELATED TO DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES BESIDES THE UNITED STATES

The Company may face a severe operating environment during times of economic recession.

The sales volume of the Company’s core products is largely influenced by the demand for its customers’ end products which are mostly sold in the Chinese markets. Future economic crises, either within China or without, may lead to a drastic drop in demand for the Company’s products.

Inflation in China could negatively affect the Company’s profitability and growth.

China’s economy has experienced rapid growth, much of it due to the issuance of debt over the last few years. This debt-fueled economic growth has led to growth in the money supply, causing rising inflation. If prices for the Company’s products rise at a rate that is insufficient to compensate for the rise in the cost of production, it may harm the Company’s profitability. In order to control inflation, the Chinese government has imposed controls on bank credit, limits on loans and other restrictions on economic activities. Such policies have led to a slowing of economic growth. Additional measures could further slow economic activity in China, which could, in turn, materially increase the Company’s costs while also reducing demand for the Company’s products.

The Chinese government’s macroeconomic policies could have a negative effect on the Company’s business and results of operations.

The Chinese government has implemented various measures from time to time to control the rate of economic growth in the PRC. Some of these measures may have a negative effect on the Company over the short or long term. Recently, to cope with high inflation and economic imbalances, the Chinese government has tightened monetary policy and implemented floating exchange rate policy. In addition, in order to alleviate some of the effects of unbalanced growth and social discontent, the Chinese government has enacted a series of social programs and anti-inflationary measures. These, in turn, have increased the costs on the financial and manufacturing sectors, without having alleviated the effects of high inflation and economic imbalances. The Chinese government’s macroeconomic policies, even if effected properly, may significantly slow down China’s economy or cause great social unrest, all of which would have a negative effect on the Company’s business and results of operations.

The economic, political and social conditions in China could affect the Company’s business.

Most of the Company’s business, assets and operations are located in China. The economy of China differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. The economy of China has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of sound corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the Chinese government.

In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry by imposing industrial policies. It also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Therefore, the Chinese government’s involvement in the economy could adversely affect the Company’s business operations, results of operations and/or financial condition.

Because the Company’s operations are mostly located outside of the United States and are subject to Chinese laws, any change of Chinese laws may adversely affect its business.

Most of the Company’s operations are in the PRC, which exposes it to risks, such as exchange controls and currency restrictions, currency fluctuations and devaluations, changes in local economic conditions, changes in Chinese laws and regulations, exposure to possible expropriation or other PRC government actions, and unsettled political conditions. These factors may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations or on its business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Company’s international expansion plans subject it to risks inherent in doing business internationally.

The Company’s long-term business strategy relies on the expansion of its international sales outside China by targeting markets, such as the United States and Brazil. Risks affecting the Company’s international expansion include challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences, conflicting and changing laws and regulations, foreign laws, international import and export legislation, trading and investment policies, foreign currency fluctuations, the burdens of complying with a wide variety of laws and regulations, protectionist laws and business practices that favor local businesses in some countries, foreign tax consequences, higher costs associated with doing business internationally, restrictions on the export or import of technology, difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, trade and tariff restrictions, and variations in tariffs, quotas, taxes and other market barriers. These risks could harm the Company’s international expansion efforts, which could in turn materially and adversely affect its business, operating results and financial condition.

On September 17, 2012, the United States filed a trade case with the World Trade Organization, “WTO,” against the PRC with respect to the PRC government’s purported provision of subsidies to the automobile and automobile-parts enterprises in the PRC. If the WTO rules against China in this trade case, the cost of sales of the Company could increase due to the imposition of any tariff and/or the Company’s ability to export products to the United States could be limited, which could affect the Company’s business and operating results.

In addition, under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC has adopted additional disclosure requirements related to the source of certain “conflict minerals” for issuers for which such “conflict minerals” are necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured, or contracted to be manufactured, by that issuer. The metals covered by the rules include tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, commonly referred to as “3TG.” If these materials are necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured, or contracted to be manufactured, the rules require a reasonable country of origin inquiry be conducted to determine if an issuer knows, or has reason to believe, that any of the minerals used in the production process may have originated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country. In such a case, if an issuer were not able to determine that the minerals did not originate from a covered country or conclude that there is no reason to believe that the minerals used in the production process may have originated in a covered country, that issuer could be required to perform supply chain due diligence on members of its supply chain. Global supply chains can have multiple layers, thus the costs of complying with these new requirements could be substantial. These new requirements may also reduce the number of suppliers that provide conflict-free metals and may also affect a company’s ability to obtain products in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. If the Company was to source such 3TG minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured, or contracted to be manufactured, compliance costs with these rules and/or the unavailability of raw materials could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations.

The Company faces risks associated with currency exchange rate fluctuations; any adverse fluctuation may adversely affect its operating margins.

Although the Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware, in the United States, the majority of its current revenues are in Chinese currency. Conducting business in currencies other than U.S. dollars subjects the Company to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could have a negative impact on its reported operating results. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies impact the Company’s revenues, cost of revenues and operating margins and result in foreign currency translation gains and losses. Historically, the Company has not engaged in exchange rate hedging activities. Although the Company may implement hedging strategies to mitigate this risk, these strategies may not eliminate its exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations and involve costs and risks of their own, such as ongoing management time and expertise requirements, external costs to implement the strategy and potential accounting implications.

If relations between the United States and China worsen, the Company’s stock price may decrease and the Company may have difficulty accessing the U.S. capital markets.

At various times during recent years, the United States and China have had disagreements over political and economic issues. Controversies may arise in the future between these two countries. Any political or trade controversies between the United States and China could adversely affect the market price of the Company’s common stock and its ability to access U.S. capital markets. Political events, international trade disputes and other business interruptions could harm or disrupt international commerce and the global economy, and could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its customers and its other business partners.

The Chinese government could change its policies toward private enterprise, which could adversely affect the Company’s business.

The Company’s business is subject to political and economic uncertainties in China and may be adversely affected by China’s political, economic and social developments. Over the past several years, the Chinese government has pursued economic reform policies including the encouragement of private economic activity and greater economic decentralization. The Chinese government may not continue to pursue these policies or may alter them to the Company’s detriment from time to time. Changes in policies, laws and regulations, or in their interpretation or the imposition of confiscatory taxation, restrictions on currency conversion, restrictions or prohibitions on dividend payments to stockholders, devaluations of currency or the nationalization or other expropriation of private enterprises could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. Nationalization or expropriation could result in the total loss of the Company’s investment in China.

Government control of currency conversion and future movements in exchange rates may adversely affect the Company’s operations and financial results.

The Company receives most of its revenues in Chinese Renminbi, “RMB”. A portion of such revenues will be converted into other currencies to meet the Company’s foreign currency obligations. Foreign exchange transactions under the Company’s capital account, including principal payments in respect of foreign currency-denominated obligations, continue to be subject to significant foreign exchange controls and require the approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China. These limitations could affect the Company’s ability to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing, or to obtain foreign exchange for capital expenditures.

The Chinese government controls its foreign currency reserves through restrictions on imports and conversion of RMB into foreign currency. In July 2005, the Chinese government has adjusted its exchange rate policy from “Fixed Rate” to “Floating Rate”. From July 2005 to December 2020, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar appreciated from RMB1.00 to $0.1205 to RMB1.00 to $0.1533. Any significant appreciation of the RMB is likely to decrease the income of export products and the cash flow of the Company.

Because the Chinese legal system is not fully developed, the Company and its security holders’ legal protections may be limited.

The Chinese legal system is based on written statutes and their interpretation by the Supreme People’s Court. Although the Chinese government introduced new laws and regulations to modernize its business, securities and tax systems on January 1, 1994, China does not yet possess a comprehensive body of business law. Because Chinese laws and regulations are relatively new, interpretation, implementation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties and inconsistencies and it may be difficult to enforce contracts. In addition, as the Chinese legal system develops, changes in such laws and regulations, their interpretation or their enforcement may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business operations. Moreover, interpretative case law does not have the same precedential value in China as in the United States, so legal compliance in China may be more difficult or expensive.

It may be difficult to serve the Company with legal process or enforce judgments against the Company or its management.

Most of the Company’s assets are located in China, nine of its directors and officers are non-residents of the United States, and all or substantial portions of the assets of such non-residents are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons to originate an action in the United States. Moreover, there is uncertainty that the courts of China would enforce judgments of U.S. courts against the Company, its directors or officers based on the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state, or an original action brought in China based upon the securities laws of the United States or any state.

The Company may be subject to fines and legal sanctions imposed by State Administration of Foreign Exchange, “SAFE”, or other Chinese government authorities if it or its Chinese directors or employees fail to comply with recent Chinese regulations relating to employee share options or shares granted by offshore listed companies to Chinese domestic individuals.

On December 25, 2006, the People’s Bank of China, or PBOC, issued the Administration Measures on Individual Foreign Exchange Control, and the corresponding Implementation Rules were issued by SAFE on January 5, 2007. Both of these regulations became effective on February 1, 2007. According to these regulations, all foreign exchange matters relating to employee stock holding plans, share option plans or similar plans with Chinese domestic individuals’ participation require approval from the SAFE or its authorized branch. On March 28, 2007, the SAFE issued the Application Procedure of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Holding Plan or Stock Option Plan of Overseas-Listed Company, or the Stock Option Rule. Under the Stock Option Rule, Chinese domestic individuals who are granted share options or shares by an offshore listed company are required, through a Chinese agent or Chinese subsidiary of the offshore listed company, to register with the SAFE and complete certain other procedures. As the Company is an offshore listed company, its Chinese domestic directors and employees who may be granted share options or shares shall become subject to the Stock Option Rule. Under the Stock Option Rule, employees stock holding plans, share option plans or similar plans of offshore listed companies with Chinese domestic individuals’ participation must be filed with the SAFE. After the Chinese domestic directors or employees exercise their options, they must apply for the amendment to the registration with the SAFE. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has completed such SAFE registration and other related procedures according to PRC law. If the Company or its Chinese domestic directors or employees fail to comply with these regulations in the future, the Company or its Chinese domestic directors or employees may be subject to fines or other legal sanctions imposed by the SAFE or other Chinese government authorities.

Capital outflow policies in China may hamper the Company’s ability to declare and pay dividends to its stockholders.

China has adopted currency and capital transfer regulations. These regulations may require the Company to comply with complex regulations for the movement of capital. Although the Company’s management believes that it will be in compliance with these regulations, should these regulations or the interpretation of them by courts or regulatory agencies change, the Company may not be able to pay dividends to its stockholders outside of China. In addition, under current Chinese law, the Company’s joint-ventures and wholly-owned enterprise in China must retain a reserve equal to 10% of its net income after taxes, not to exceed 50% of its registered capital. Accordingly, this reserve will not be available to be distributed as dividends to the Company’s stockholders. The Company presently does not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. The Company’s board of directors intends to follow a policy of retaining all of the Company’s earnings to finance the development and execution of its strategy and the expansion of the Company’s business.

The audit report included in this annual report is prepared by an auditor that is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Since our auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB has been unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our investors are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

In May 2013, the PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and the PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by the PCAOB, the CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States and the PRC, respectively. The PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

On December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement highlighting continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China.

On April 21, 2020, the SEC and the PCAOB issued another joint statement reiterating the greater risk that disclosures will be insufficient in many emerging markets, including China, compared to those made by U.S. domestic companies. In discussing the specific issues related to the greater risk, the statement again highlights the PCAOB’s inability to inspect audit work papers and practices of accounting firms in China, with respect to their audit work of U.S. reporting companies. However, it remains unclear what further actions, if any, the SEC and the PCAOB will take to address the problem.

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of our independent registered public accounting firm. As a result, we and our investors are deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

As part of a continued regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit and other information currently protected by national law, in particular China's, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in both houses of Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. The proposed Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act prescribes increased disclosure requirements for such issuers and, beginning in 2025, the delisting from national securities exchanges of issuers included on the SEC’s list for three consecutive years.

It is unclear if and when this proposed legislation will be enacted. Furthermore, there have been recent media reports on deliberations within the U.S. government regarding potentially limiting or restricting China-based companies from accessing U.S. capital markets. If any such deliberations were to materialize, the resulting legislation may have a material and adverse impact on the stock performance of China-based issuers listed in the United States, which include us.

The Company could be delisted if it is unable to timely meet the PCAOB inspection requirements established by the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.

On December 18, 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or HFCAA, was enacted. In essence, the act requires the SEC to prohibit securities of any foreign companies from being listed on U.S. securities exchanges or traded “over-the-counter” if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. Our independent registered public accounting firm is located in and organized under the laws of the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, and therefore our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final amendments, which will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. The interim final amendments will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. Before any registrant will be required to comply with the interim final amendments, the SEC must implement a process for identifying such registrants. As of the date of this annual report, the SEC is seeking public comment on this identification process. Consistent with the HFCAA, the amendments will require any identified registrant to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that the registrant is not owned or controlled by a government entity in that jurisdiction, and will also require, among other things, disclosure in the registrant’s annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and government influence on, such registrant.

The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. For example, on August 6, 2020, the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, issued the Report on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies to the then President of the United States. This report recommended that the SEC implement five recommendations to address companies from jurisdictions that do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfil its statutory mandate. Some of the concepts of these recommendations were implemented with the enactment of the HFCAA. However, some of the recommendations were more stringent than the HFCAA. For example, if a company was not subject to PCAOB inspection, the report recommended that the transition period before a company would be delisted would end on January 1, 2022.

It is unclear when the SEC will complete its rulemaking, when such rules will become effective and what, if any, of the PWG recommendations will be adopted. The enactment of the HFCAA and the implications of any additional rulemaking efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information in China could cause investor uncertainty for affected SEC registrants, including us, and the market price of our stock could be materially adversely affected. Additionally, whether the PCAOB will be able to conduct inspections of our auditors in the next three years, or at all, is subject to substantial uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our control. If we are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement in time, we could be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market and our stock will not be permitted for trading “over-the-counter” either. Such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our stock when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our stock. Also, such a delisting would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Proceedings instituted by the SEC against PRC affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in our financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. 

Starting in 2011, the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S.-listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from the Chinese firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. However, the firms were advised and directed that under Chinese law, they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC.

In late 2012, this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC’s internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty did not take effect pending review by the Commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the Commissioners had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepted that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms were to receive matching Section 106 requests, and were required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance required them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they failed to meet specified criteria, the SEC retained authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure.

Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four China-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice four years after entry of the settlement. The four-year mark occurred on February 6, 2019. We cannot predict whether the SEC will further challenge the four China-based accounting firms’ compliance with U.S. law in connection with U.S. regulatory requests for audit work papers or if the results of such a challenge would result in the SEC imposing penalties such as suspensions. If additional remedial measures are imposed on the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our common stock in the United States.

The non-U.S. activities of our non-U.S. subsidiaries may be subject to U.S. taxation.

The majority of our subsidiaries are based in China and are subject to income taxes in the PRC. These China-based subsidiaries conduct substantially all of our operations, and generate most of our income in China. The Company is a Delaware corporation and is subject to income tax in the United States. New U.S. federal tax legislation, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “U.S. Tax Reform”), was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The U.S. Tax Reform significantly modified the U.S. Internal Revenue Code by, among other things, reducing the statutory U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; limiting and/or eliminating many business deductions; migrating the U.S. to a territorial tax system with a one-time transition tax on a mandatory deemed repatriation of previously deferred foreign earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries; subject to certain limitations, generally eliminating U.S. corporate income tax on dividends from foreign subsidiaries; and providing for new taxes on certain foreign earnings. Taxpayers may elect to pay the one-time transition tax over eight years, or in a single lump-sum payment.

Certain activities conducted in the PRC or other jurisdictions outside of the U.S. may give rise to U.S. corporate income tax. These taxes would be imposed on the Company when its subsidiaries that are controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”) generate income that is subject to Subpart F of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, or “Subpart F”. Passive income, such as rents, royalties, interest, dividends, and gain from disposal of our investments is among the types of income subject to taxation under Subpart F. Any income taxable under Subpart F is taxable in the U.S. at federal corporate income tax rates of up to 21% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Subpart F income is taxable to the Company, even if it is not distributed to the Company.

The U.S. Tax Reform also includes provisions for a new tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) effective for tax years of non-U.S. corporations beginning after December 31, 2017. The GILTI provisions impose a tax on foreign income in excess of a deemed return on tangible assets of CFCs, subject to the possible use of foreign tax credits and a deduction equal to 50 percent to offset the income tax liability, subject to some limitations.

Information technology dependency and cyber security vulnerabilities could lead to reduced revenue, liability claims, or competitive harm.

The Company is dependent on information technology systems and infrastructure (“IT systems”) to conduct its business. Our IT systems may be vulnerable to disruptions from human error, outdated applications, computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access, cyber-attack and other similar disruptions. Any significant disruption, breakdown, intrusion, interruption or corruption of these systems or data breaches could cause the loss of data or intellectual property, equipment damage, downtime, and/or safety related issues and could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have, from time to time, experienced incidents related to our IT systems, and expect that such incidents will continue, including malware and computer virus outbreaks, unauthorized access, systems failures and disruptions. We have measures and defenses in place against such events, but we may not be able to prevent, immediately detect, or remediate all instances of such events. A material security breach or disruption of our IT systems could result in theft, unauthorized use, or publication of our intellectual property and/or confidential business information, harm our competitive position, disrupt our manufacturing, reduce the value of our investment in research and development and other strategic initiatives, impair our ability to access vendors and suppliers or otherwise adversely affect our business.

Additionally, we believe that utilities and other operators of critical infrastructure that serve our facilities face heightened security risks, including cyber-attack. In the event of such an attack, disruption in service from our utility providers could disrupt our manufacturing operations which rely on a continuous source of power (electrical, gas, etc.).

Our business is subject to natural disasters, health epidemics and other catastrophic incidents.

In addition to COVID-19, China has in the past experienced significant natural disasters, including earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, as well as health scares related to epidemic diseases, and any similar event could materially impact our business in the future. If a disaster or other disruption were to occur in the future that affects the regions where we operate our business, our operations could be materially and adversely affected due to loss of personnel and damage to property. Even if we are not directly affected, such a disaster or disruption could affect the operations or financial conditions of our customers, which could harm our results of operations.

Not Applicable.

The Company’s headquarters are located at No. 1 Henglong Road, Yu Qiao Development Zone, Shashi District, Jing Zhou City Hubei Province, the PRC. Set forth below are the manufacturing facilities operated by each joint venture. The Company has forty-five to fifty years long-term rights to use the lands and buildings (in thousands of USD, except for references to area in square meters).

The Company is not involved in investments in real estate or interests in real estate, real estate mortgages, and securities of or interests in persons primarily engaged in real estate activities, as all of its land rights are used for production purposes.

On January 7, 2019, three purported stockholders of the Company filed a stockholder derivative complaint on behalf of the Company against the Company’s directors Hanlin Chen, Qizhou Wu and Guangxun Xu and former directors Arthur Wong and Robert Tung in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging that they had (a) breached their fiduciary duties by approving and paying excessive compensation to the non-employee directors of the Company, Arthur Wong, Guangxun Xu and Robert Tung, and (b) failed to make full and accurate disclosure of all material information with respect to director qualification and director compensation paid in 2017 in the Company’s annual proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed on October 10, 2018. The directors have engaged their own counsel to answer this complaint. On April 9, 2019, the Company moved to dismiss the complaint. The motion to dismiss was denied on July 17, 2019. As of November 2020, the Company reached a settlement to resolve the lawsuit for a sum of $55,998. The Company did not admit any liability in reaching the settlement. On February 5, 2021, the Court of Chancery conducted a hearing to confirm the settlement of the stockholder derivative action. The Court entered a Final Order and Judgment approving the settlement. The Court further ordered that the plaintiffs’ application for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses be reduced from $100,000 to $30,000. The Court’s Final Order and Judgment is publicly available on the Court of Chancery docket.

Other than as described above, the Company is not a party to any pending or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any threatened legal proceedings and no director, officer or affiliate of the Company, or owner of record of more than five percent of the securities of the Company, or any associate of any such director, officer or security holder is a party adverse to the Company or has a material interest adverse to the Company in reference to pending litigation.

Not applicable.

PART II

The Company’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CAAS”.

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

On December 18, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a share repurchase program under which the Company was permitted to repurchase up to $5.0 million of its common stock from time to time in the open market at prevailing markets prices or in privately negotiated transactional through December 17, 2016. The repurchase program terminated on December 17, 2016. During the year ended December 31, 2016, under the repurchase program, the Company repurchased 477,015 shares of the Company’s common stock for cash consideration of $1.9 million on the open market.

On December 5, 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a share repurchase program under which the Company was permitted to repurchase up to $5.0 million of its common stock from time to time in the open market at prevailing markets prices or in privately negotiated transactions through December 4, 2019.  The Company has extended the program to December 4, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2019, under the repurchase program, the Company repurchased 452,559 shares of the Company’s common stock for cash consideration of $1.0 million on the open market. During the year ended December 31, 2020, there were no common stock repurchases under such program.

On August 13, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a share repurchase program under which the Company is permitted to repurchase up to $5.0 million of its common stock from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices not to exceed $3.50 per share through August 12, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company repurchased 322,269 of the shares that were authorized to be repurchased under the program. There were no common stock repurchases from January 1, 2021 to the date of this report.

STOCKHOLDERS

The Company’s common shares are issued in registered form. Securities Transfer Corporation in Frisco, Texas is the registrar and transfer agent for the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2020, there were 32,338,302 shares of the Company’s common stock (including 1,486,526 shares of the Company’s treasury stock) issued and the Company had approximately 57 stockholders of record.

DIVIDENDS

The Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company currently intends to retain future earnings, if any, to finance operations and the expansion of its business. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and will be based upon the Company’s financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, plans for expansion, restrictions imposed by any financing arrangements and any other factors that the Company’s board of directors deems relevant.

SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS

The securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans at December 31, 2020 are as follows:

The stock option plan was approved at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 28, 2005 and extended for ten years at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on September 16, 2014. The maximum common shares for issuance under the plan are 2,200,000. The term of the plan was extended to June 27, 2025.

Not Applicable.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto and other financial information contained elsewhere in this report.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

China Automotive Systems, Inc., including, when the context so requires, its subsidiaries and the subsidiaries’ interests in the Sino-foreign joint ventures described below, is referred to herein as the “Company.” The Company, through its Sino-foreign joint ventures, engages in the manufacture and sales of automotive systems and components in the People’s Republic of China, the “PRC,” or “China.” Genesis, a company incorporated on January 3, 2003 under the Companies Ordinance of Hong Kong as a limited liability company, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Henglong USA Corporation, “HLUSA,” which was incorporated on January 8, 2007 in Troy, Michigan, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and mainly engages in marketing of automotive parts in North America, and provides after sales service and research and development support. Furthermore, the Company owns the following aggregate net interests in the subsidiaries incorporated in the PRC and Brazil as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Selected highlights from our operations (in thousands of U.S. dollars):

Net Product Sales and Cost of Products Sold

For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, net sales and cost of sales are summarized as follows (figures are in thousands of USD):

Net Product Sales

Net product sales were $417.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $431.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $13.8 million, or 3.2%. 

Net sales of traditional steering products were $355.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $348.9 million for 2019, representing an increase of $6.7 million, or 1.9%. Net sales of EPS were $62.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $82.5 million for 2019, representing a decrease of $20.5 million, or 24.8%. As a percentage of net sales, the sales of EPS were 14.8% for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to 19.1% for 2019.

The decrease in net product sales was due to the effects of two major factors: (i) the decrease in sales volume led to a sales decrease of $0.7 million mainly due to the decreased demand as a result of COVID-19 and (ii) the decrease in average selling price led to a sales decrease of $14.0 million.

The appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar in 2020 led to a sales increase of $0.9 million.

Further analysis is as follows:

Cost of Products Sold

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the cost of sales was $362.3 million, compared with $368.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $5.8 million, or 1.6%. The decrease in cost of sales was mainly due to the effect of the following major factors: (i) the decrease in sales volumes with a cost of sales decrease of $0.2 million; (ii) the decrease in unit cost with a cost of sales decrease of $6.2 million; and (iii) the appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar with a cost of sales increase of $0.6 million. Further analysis is as follows:

Gross margin was 13.3% for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing a 1.4% decrease from 14.7% for the year ended December 31, 2019, mainly due to the decrease in selling price in 2020.

Net Gain on Other Sales

Gain on other sales mainly consisted of rental income, gain on disposal of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, and R&D revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2020, gain on other sales amounted to $4.3 million, as compared to $5.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $0.8 million, mainly due the decrease in gain on disposal of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment.

Selling Expenses

For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, selling expenses are summarized as follows (figures are in thousands of USD):

Selling expenses were $14.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was generally consistent with last year.

General and Administrative Expenses

For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, general and administrative expenses are summarized as follows (figures are in thousands of USD):

General and administrative expenses were $27.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $20.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $7.6 million or 38.0%, which mainly included an increase in provision of allowance for doubtful accounts of $6.4 million as a result of one of the customers’ application for bankruptcy in November 2020.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses, “R&D” expenses, were $25.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $28.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $2.3 million, or 8.2%, which was primarily due to cost control on research and development activities and the temporary suspension of the Company’s operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Other Income, Net

Other income, net was $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $0.4 million, or 20.0%, which was primarily due to an increase in the government subsidies recognized in 2020.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $1.4 million, or 46.7%, primarily as a result of decreased loans and lower interest rates.

Financial (Expense)/Income, Net

Financial expense, net was $4.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to financial income, net of $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase in financial expense of $7.4 million, which was primarily due to an increase in the foreign exchange loss because of the exchange rate fluctuation.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense was $2.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase in income tax expense of $1.6 million. The increase resulted primarily from the increase in valuation allowance recognized in 2020.

Net Loss Attributable to Non-controlling Interests

The Company recorded a net loss attributable to non-controlling interests of $5.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $3.7 million.

Net (Loss)/Income Attributable to Parent Company’s Common Shareholders

Net loss attributable to parent company was $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to net income attributable to parent company of $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $15.0 million.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Capital Resources and Use of Cash

The Company has historically financed its liquidity requirements from a variety of sources, including short-term borrowings under bank credit agreements, bankers’ acceptances, issuances of capital stock and notes and internally generated cash. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $107.4 million, compared with $82.5 million as of December 31, 2019, an increase of $24.9 million, or 30.2%.

The Company had working capital (current assets less current liabilities) of $121.2 million as of December 31, 2020, compared with $137.4 million as of December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $16.2 million, or 11.8%.

Except for the expected distribution of dividends from the Company’s PRC subsidiaries to the Company in order to fund the payment of the one-time transition tax due to the U.S. Tax Reform, the Company intends to indefinitely reinvest the funds in subsidiaries established in the PRC.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has had material impacts on our cash flow for the year of 2020 with potential continuing impacts on subsequent periods. However, based on our liquidity assessment, we believe that our current cash position, cash flow from operations and proceeds from our financing activities will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs, including our cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures, for the foreseeable future and for at least 12 months subsequent to the filing of this annual report.

Capital Source

The Company’s capital source is multifaceted, such as bank loans and banks’ acceptance facilities. In financing activities and operating activities, the Company’s banks require the Company to sign line of credit agreements and repay such facilities within one to two years. On the condition that the Company can provide adequate mortgage security and has not violated the terms of the line of credit agreement, such facilities can be extended for another one to two years. 

The Company had short-term loans of $44.2 million, and bankers’ acceptance notes payable of $80.2 million as of December 31, 2020.

The Company currently expects to be able to obtain similar bank loans, i.e., RMB loans, and bankers’ acceptance facilities in the future if it can provide adequate mortgage security following the termination of the above-mentioned agreements, see the table under “Bank Arrangements” below for more information. If the Company is not able to do so, it will have to refinance such debt as it becomes due or repay that debt to the extent it has cash available from operations or from the proceeds of additional issuances of capital stock. Due to a depreciation of assets, the value of the mortgages securing the above-mentioned bank loans and banker's acceptances is expected to be reduced by approximately $16.3 million over the next 12 months. If the Company wishes to maintain the same amount of bank loans and banker's acceptances in the future, it may be required by the banks to provide additional mortgages of $16.3 million as of the maturity date of such line of credit agreements, see the table under “Bank Arrangements” below for more information. The Company can still obtain lines of credit with a reduction of $8.6 million, which is 52.9%, the mortgage ratio, of $16.3 million, if it cannot provide additional mortgages. The Company expects that the reduction in bank loans will not have a material adverse effect on its liquidity.

Bank Facilities

As of December 31, 2020, the principal outstanding under the Company’s credit facilities and lines of credit was as follows (figures are in thousands of USD).

The Company may request the banks to issue notes payable or bank loans within its credit line using a 365-day revolving line. 

The Company renewed its existing short-term loans and borrowed new loans during 2020 at annual interest rates ranging from 2.50% to 5.22%, and the Company’s loan terms range from 9 months to 23 months. The large spread in interest rates was due to the different lenders (interest rates for government loans are normally lower than for commercial bank loans). Pursuant to the comprehensive credit line arrangement, the Company pledged and guaranteed:

1. Land use rights and buildings with an assessed value of approximately $71.4 million as security for its revolving comprehensive credit facility with Hubei Bank.

2. Buildings with an assessed value of approximately $22.6 million as security for its comprehensive credit facility with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

3. Land use rights and buildings with an assessed value of approximately $21.8 million as security for its comprehensive credit facility with China CITIC Bank Wuhan branch.

4. Land use rights and buildings with an assessed value of approximately $6.8 million as security for its revolving comprehensive credit facility with China CITIC Bank Shenyang Branch.

5. Land use rights and buildings with an assessed value of approximately $9.7 million as security for its comprehensive credit facility with China Everbright Bank.

6. Buildings with an assessed value of approximately $2.4 million as security for its comprehensive credit facility with Bank of Chongqing.

7. Buildings with an assessed value of approximately $4.3 million as security for its comprehensive credit facility with Agricultural Bank of China.

Cash Requirements

The following table summarizes the Company’s expected cash outflows resulting from financial contracts and commitments. The Company has not included information on its recurring purchases of materials for use in its manufacturing operations. These amounts are generally consistent from year to year, closely reflecting the Company’s levels of production, and are not long-term in nature (being less than three months in length).

Short-term and Long-term Loans

The following table summarizes the contract information of short-term and long-term borrowings between the banks, government and the Company as of December 31, 2020 (figures are in thousands of USD).

The Company must use the loans for the purpose described and repay the principal outstanding on the specified date in the table. If it fails to do so, it will be charged additional 30% to 100% penalty interest.

The Company had complied with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2020. 

Notes Payable

The following table summarizes the contract information of issuing notes payable between the banks and the Company as of December 31, 2020 (figures are in thousands of USD):