The two-door GT from the EV Chinese start-up NETA went on sale in its home market promising an ‘affordable sports EV’ and now the manufacturer has its sights set on success in the UAE and Middle East
NETA chose the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to show off its new GT car where it rounded the Yas Bay circuit pre-race.
The manufacturer says it is “the new generation electric GT, is born with exceptional sports car genes, which boasts an exceptionally impressive acceleration performance, achieving 0-100 kph (62mph) in just 3.7 seconds. During the surrounding events of the race, NETA GT showcased its trendy, sporty, and distinctive qualities, seemingly resonating with the passion of the race and creating a thrilling experience for the audience.”
NETA adds a press release this week: “This appearance undoubtedly opens a new chapter for NETA GT in the Middle Eastern market.” There’s not too much information available on range or battery size but it is something slightly different in a market currently dominated by EVs in the SUV style.
The NETA GT is an electric mid-size sports car produced by Hozon Auto under the Neta (Nezha) brand, a Chinese all-electric car manufacturer. NETA vehicles are manufactured by the Zhejiang Hezhong New Energy Automobile Company.
The GT was created for the mainland Chinese market, with plans to start production and sales in the first quarter of 2023. The manufacturer wants to emphasize the uniqueness of the concept of an affordable sports-electric car, which has no direct competitor in China at the time of its debut.
In China the four-model range begins at US$25,226 and the top spec model is US$32,000. In the UAE is would likely be around the same price but in USA a minimum of 10% more while in Europe the likely on the road price would be at least 30% more but that would still be competitive if the battery and range (which it makes no mention of in its launch release) can satisfy customers.
Unusually for an EV maker, NETA makes much of the GT’s processing power saying: “It is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, featuring a CPU computing power of up to 105K DMIPS, delivering excellent operational speed and data processing capabilities.”
In October of this year, NETA Auto signed a strategic cooperation agreement with EIH Automotive & Trading from the United Arab Emirates in Shanghai. In 2024, NETA will join forces with EIH Automotive & Trading to introduce a variety of models into the UAE. This collaboration aims to make high-quality intelligent electric vehicles accessible worldwide.
Neta Auto sold 152,073 units in 2022, up 118% year on year, marking year-on-year increase for the 29th consecutive month. It also becomes the first China EV startup selling over 150,000 vehicles a year, 3,456 of them were delivered to overseas customers. As of late December 2022, Neta Auto had delivered 248,050 units. It spent merely eight months selling 100,000 vehicles for the second time, five times faster than it sold 100,000 units for the first time, a new record among EV startups in China. Sales in 2022 accounted for 61% of total sales of Neta Auto since its establishment, showing unstoppable development of the brand.
