Malaysians asked for a low priced EV but why are they NOT buying the Neta V
It happened year ago, on October 2023, the NETA V was officially launched in Malaysia and it came right after a successful launch in Thailand.
NETA Auto Malaysia is operated by Intro Synergy Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of NETA brand in Malaysia. Through its partnership with Hozon New Energy Automobile Co. Ltd., Intro Synergy Sdn Bhd had the aim to revolutionize the Malaysian automotive market by making battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accessible to the general population and this is why the NETA V was launched in Malaysia from just RM100k.
This compact Chinese made EV had a possible 380km of driving range from its 95PS and 160NM powertrain which is better than some EV’s costing RM50 to RM60k more.
At the time, lower and also middle class Malaysians were asking for a low priced 4 doors electric car and this NETA V which is sized almost like a Perodua Myvi was to be the answer until Proton and Perodua launched their very own electric cars (coming very soon).
Now, months later we found NETA showroom sales people and dealers (not the distributors) sharing their frustration with us on the falling bookings. So what happened?
In June 2024, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, as well as its agencies, Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IOT Institute (MARii) have given assistance, manufacturing license and financial grants to start local assembly of NETA electric cars (NEXV Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd.) at its new manufacturing plant in Chembong, Negeri Sembilan.
NexV Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (NMSB) factory is located on 29.67 hectares (73.34 acres) in the Chembong Industrial Area in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.
This new RM600 million electric vehicle assembly factory is a joint venture between latex glove manufacturer, Careplus Group Bhd (see picture below) and Go Auto Group Sdn Bhd. and will be ready in 2025 with a target capacity of 30,000 electric vehicles a year.
The early sales momentum was started by eager fans of the electric vehicle ownership proposition but the Chinese made EV ‘price war’ in March 2024 provided options for Malaysians and so the NETA V was quickly forgotten in favor of the BYD Dolphin which is priced at RM100,530, the ORA Good Cat at RM113,800 and the best selling BYD Atto3 at RM129,800.
Meanwhile, NETA EV’s have seen a drop in demand in Thailand and the local distributor had to cut the price of the V-II model by 50,000 baht, or 9 percent, from its 549,000 baht launch price.
Additionally, in April this year Hozon Auto, the owner of the NETA brand, announced a series of cost-cutting measures such as concentrating its production in eastern China’s Tongxiang after sales dropped in 2023.
Founded in 2014, Hozon launched its EV brand NETA in 2018. The company once topped the list of Chinese EV startups with almost 152,100 units sold in 2022. But as the competition intensified with new brands and price wars, sales of NETA electric vehicles slumped by 16 percent to nearly 127,500 units in 2023 from 2022.
So, will Careplus Group see even 50 percent (15,000 units) electric vehicle production a year at their Chembong electric vehicle factory in 2025 and beyond?
