Malaysia will soon be welcoming yet another Chinese EV brand, called Neta. The first model from the marque to be launched here will be the Neta V, which will make its official debut at the upcoming Malaysia Autoshow 2023.
This was revealed in the announcement of the appointment of Intro Synergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of GoAuto Group, as the sole distributor for the Neta marque here in Malaysia.
The partnership with Hozon New Energy Auto, Neta’s parent company, will “come into force in five years”, with an investment plan of RM300 million being earmarked for the development of a manufacturing and assembly plant, as well as sales and after sales network here in Malaysia.
“We are excited to announce our partnership with Neta, which will enable us to bring our innovative electric vehicles at affordable and competitive prices to more customers in Malaysia,” said GoAuto Group chairman Datuk SM Azli SM Nasimuddin Kamal. “We hope that this brand will be well received by the public and further boost EV acceptance in the country.”
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The Neta V is a budget-focused fully-electric crossover, coming in about the same size as your run-off-the-mill B-segment model. Launched in Thailand earlier this year, the compact Chinese EV features a 38.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that powers a single electric motor on the front axle, making 70 kW (94 hp) and 150 Nm of torque.
The relatively small battery means it only has a NEDC-rated range of 384 km, so expect a real-world range of around 200 km. Though, with an official top speed of just 101 km/h, you probably won’t be driving the Neta V on the highways that much, anyway. No official 0-100 km/h sprint time figures were given, but 0-50 km/h will take just 3.9 seconds.
For charging, the Neta V comes with an on-board AC charger that supports up to 6.6 kW, translating to a full charge in roughly eight hours. DC fast charging is also supported up to 100 kW, which can take the car from 30-80% charge in 30 minutes.
Despite its small battery, the Neta V will also still come with a vehicle-to-load (V2L) system that can output up to 3.3 kW of electricity to power external accessories.
Intro Synergy labels its upcoming event at the Malaysia Autoshow 2023 as a “soft launch” for the Neta V, where visitors will have the opportunity to “see and experience the latest innovation in sustainable transportation”. Customers who book the Neta V during the motor show (4-7 May 2023) will also get to enjoy “significantly lower prices”, according to the press release.
