We got another Tesla killer from China for you. This is the final standard-production version of the new Neta S, a Chinese electric sedan that will hot the market in the fourth quarter. The S is a great looking car with a trendy split-headlight design and a drag coefficient of only 0.216 Cd.
The rear is a beauty too, with a simple yet elegant design, with a car-wide light unit, and sporty spoiler integrated in the boot lid, and a narrow rear window.
The new photos, kindly provided by China’s Ministry of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), show 3 versions: a single motor rear-wheel drive base version (on the first two pics), a single motor rear-wheel drive luxury version, and the top twin-motor four-wheel drive version with scissor doors.
Image showing various wheel options, and different decorations around the fender cam.
The Neta brand was founded in 2018, the brand is owned by a company called Hozon Auto. Neta currently sells two cars: the Neta V crossover and the Neta U SUV. Last month, Neta launched a special edition of the S, whereas the regular car will launch only in Q4. Launching a special edition before launching the base car is indeed weird, but it may become a trend in China. Earlier, the new Avatr brand did exactly the same thing with the Avatr 011 MMW.
This is the single-motor luxury version. Let’s check some specs. Size first, because it matters: 4980/1980/1450, with a 2980 wheelbase. Curb weight of the single motor version is 1990 kilo, the twin-motor version weights 2130 kilo. They all got 19 inch tires.
The motor model is TZ210XS001, for both the front and rear motor. They are identical in power too: 231 hp and 310 Nm. The motors are made by Wuxi CRRC Hofer Powertrain, a joint venture between China’s CRRC.EV and Germany’s Hofer Powertrain.
The single-motor rear-wheel drive version thus gets 231 hp and 310 Nm on the rear wheels. The twin-motor four-wheel drive version gets 462 hp and 620 Nm. Top speed is limited to 185 km/h on both versions.
This is the twin-motor car. It shows off its extra power with a black lower bumper and lip, red brake calipers, and black side skirts.
The rear bumper is entirely black on the twin-motor model, which looks better, I think, then the half-white half-black bumper on the single-motor car.
On the left the scissor doors in action. The rear doors open normally. The middle and lower pictures on the right show a sportier S logo, with a different font. One is for the back and one for the B-pillar. I don’t see them on the car so perhaps it is an option or a sign of an upcoming even sportier model.
Pricing is expected to start around 280.000 yuan for the base model to about 330.000 for the twin-motor car (41.440 – 48.840 USD). For comparison, the China-made Tesla Model 3 costs between 290.000 and 360.000 yuan, so the Neta S is really aimed straight at it. What will Chinese consumers choose? Well, of late, there is a clear trend towards buying Chinese brands, especially under younger car buyers. So the Neta S actually has a good fighting chance against the Tesla.
