The Neta V-II will be made in this Thai factory for the ASEAN region.
Neta, the brand that would bring the most affordable EV to Malaysia, has set up its factory in Thailand and began production of the Neta V-II just yesterday. The plant was established between Hozon Auto (the owner of the “Neta” sub-brand) and Bangchan General Assembly – their Thai manufacturing partner.
This is the first overseas plant for Neta and it will be focused entirely on the right-hand drive version of Neta’s vehicle. This means that Malaysia might be receiving our supply of the Neta V-II and possible upcoming EVs from Thailand itself. In fact, it is intended for this factory to supply the ASEAN region and the Thai market, where Neta vehicles have been surprisingly popular. That being said, Malaysian Neta license holders NEXV Manufacturing says they have a manufacturing license, so perhaps just some parts of the CKD kit will come from Thailand.
When we were in Northern Thailand recently, we spotted a fair number of Neta V EVs and even came a cross some buntings with the pricing. The Neta V goes for 499,000 BHT, which is roughly RM66,000! Plus, the promo appears to throw in an AC home charger worth about RM4,000. It’s no surprise that Neta has sold over 10,500 cars in Thailand in its first ten months of operation, prior to even opening the factory line. They’re targeting 13,000 cars sold in Thailand by the end of 2023.
The new assembly line has an annual production capacity of 20,000 units. By the end of next year, Neta has ambitions to export 100,000 cars worldwide. It has a host of nicer EVs than the Neta V to offer, such as the S and GT, which are bound for Europe.
The Neta V-II is the facelift to the Neta V, and it has yet to be launched in this region. We’re pretty sure now that production has started in Thailand, it won’t be long before there’s a launch there. The Neta V-II comes with either a 40kW motor with 318km of range or a 71kW motor with 401km of range. It measures 4070mm x 1690mm x 1540mm with a wheelbase of 2420mm.
The Neta V launched at RM100,000 in Malaysia and is officially the least expensive EV in Malaysia, undercutting the BYD Dolphin by a mere RM530.
