Hozon to produce EVs in Thailand, to cater for ASEAN region



Hozon New Energy Automobile, the company responsible for the Neta V(which recently debuted at the Malaysia Auto Show 2023), will soon begin making its electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand. Bangkok Post reports that Hozon’s EVs made in Thailand will be for the South East Asian (SEA) market.

The Chinese company has recently signed an agreement with Thailand’s Bangchan General Assembly Co Ltd this week to start production of its NETA V model. The Thai-produced Neta V will begin assembly in January 2024 with an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles.

In Thailand alone, Hozon aims to sell 10,000 vehicles in 2023. Globally, the company aims to sell 300,000 vehicles this year. Hozon also aims to enter the Middle Eastern and European markets. Hozon is backed by CATL, the largest EV battery maker in the world that supplies to several well-known carmakers.

Thailand officially welcomed the Hozon electric cars last year in fully-imported (CBU) form. As for Malaysia, Hozon’s Neta V just recently made its debut at Malaysia Auto Show 2023. The Neta V is a budget-oriented compact EV and is priced at RM99,800, making it the cheapest electric car in Malaysia, dethroning the Ora Good Cat. As a matter of fact, the Neta was even offered with a RM10,000 cash rebate if purchased during the 2023 Malaysia Auto Show.

RELATED: Neta V makes Malaysia debut – budget-oriented compact EV SUV from RM99,800

The Neta V houses a 38.5-kWh battery pack that provides 380 km of range. Performance isn’t exactly the Neta’s forte, only producing 70 kW (95 hp) and 150 Nm from a single front-mounted electric motor on the front axle. No 0-100 km/h times are specified but officially, the Neta can do 0-50km/h in 3.9 seconds. As for top speed, the Neta maxes out at 120 km/h.

As for charging, the Neta V can handle a maximum AC charging rate of 6.6 kW (single phase) which takes about 8 hours to fully charge the car. DC charging can be done at a maximum rate of 100 kW, and this can bring the battery’s state of charge (SOC) from 30% to 80% in just 30 minutes.

In Malaysia, the Hozon (or Neta) will be distributed by local distributor Intro Synergy which is a subsidiary of GoAuto Group. Deliveries of the Neta V in Malaysia are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023.

RELATED: GoAuto subsidiary named Malaysian distributor for Hozon, Neta V EV “soft launch” next week