Romoss equity frozen after power bank fire prompts regulator summons

A Romoss power bank burst into flames in a moving car, prompting Shenzhen regulators to summon the company, as corporate records show its equity stakes frozen and its main products pulled from online shelves.

The case puts a spotlight on a brand that dominated e-commerce sales events for nearly a decade, just as China's power bank industry enters mandatory China Compulsory Certification (3C) and consumers grow more alert to the safety of portable lithium batteries.

Fire in a moving car

A man was driving when the Romoss power bank in a backpack on the passenger seat suddenly ignited. Thick smoke covered the windshield and turned the episode into a near-accident, according to the report.

The Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation responded by calling the company in for an administrative talk. The harder problem for the victim, according to the report, was that official phone lines went unanswered and the brand's main products had already been quietly removed from its online stores.

Frozen equity and court records

Corporate records at Tianyancha, a business database, show where the liabilities sit. Shenzhen Romoss Technology Co Ltd was set up in March 2012 with registered capital of 6 million yuan (about $845,000) and legal representative Lei Xiurong.

Its approved business scope runs from domestic trade to clothing design and sales. Qingyuan Jufu Technology Co Ltd owns 100% of the company.

Tianyancha's litigation and judicial-risk files list multiple enforcement cases against the company and several equity freezes. Its holdings in Shenzhen Youxuanshi Technology Co Ltd and Shenzhen Huazhongke New Materials Technology Co Ltd have all been frozen by courts.

The structure explains the fragility, according to the report. Romoss runs a light-asset model focused on branding, distribution and outsourced assembly, while core components depend heavily on outside contract manufacturers and third-party cell suppliers. When products fail at scale, court claims flow back up to the equity level and block the sale or pledging of shares as a source of liquidity.

Recalls and cost pressure

The deeper problem is price. Romoss built its volume on power banks selling for roughly 10 yuan to a few dozen yuan, sweeping the discount pages of major e-commerce platforms including Juhuasuan.

Lithium battery packs are high-energy, chemically reactive products. Every safety layer carries an unavoidable cost: the cobalt-lithium ratio in the cathode, the puncture resistance of the separator, the MOS transistors that guard against overcharging, over-discharging and overheating on the protection board, and flame-retardant casing.

To hold both volume and prices, the supply chain was pushed toward cheaper options, according to the report: reused or B-grade cells from small plants, thinner flame-retardant plastic walls and fewer NTC temperature sensors in the protection circuit.

Such designs may pass basic tests under normal conditions, but in a hot car, under vibration or during long high-rate charging cycles, separator pores can fail, causing an internal short circuit and then thermal runaway.

Earlier, when regulators stepped up spot checks, Romoss was ordered to recall nearly 490,000 units over fire risks caused by defects in battery cell materials. It also announced a production halt.

Critics say the clean-up was largely a holding tactic. Idle lines and delisted products did not clear the stock already in consumers' hands, and the company lost the cash flow it needed to operate.

With fresh fires reported and debts mounting, the company lacks reserves to compensate affected users and the capital to rebuild high-standard, automotive-grade test lines. Management's choice, according to the report, was to go unreachable, leaving the brand to be wound down for residual value as enforcement cases and equity freezes pile up.

What comes next

Tianyancha's freeze records and enforcement lists mark a turning point for a hardware story built on the Huaqiangbei supply chain and e-commerce traffic. With 3C certification and safety traceability now mandatory across power banks, competing on price per 100 milliamp-hours is over.

Romoss faces a Shenzhen market regulator investigation and consumer lawsuits in several cities. The open question, according to the report, is whether the company still holds assets to cover what it owes the public on safety. That answer will be settled in court and in the market.