Neta Auto revealed the name of its first electric kombi – Neta SS. The car was previously known under the codename EP41 and will have a public debut in April at the Beijing Auto Show.
Neta is a brand under Hozon Auto. Their new kombi, or as Americans say – station wagon – is based on the Neta S sedan. Hozon revealed official spy shots last month, and CarNewsChina learned that it would be equipped with Hesai’s AT128 LiDAR sensor and priced at 300,000 yuan (41,700 USD).
Neta S has dimensions of 4980/1980/1450 mm with a wheelbase of 2980 mm, and Neta SS will most likely share it. It is available in both EV and EREV variants. The top-trim Neta S has a peak power of 340 kW and a range of 650 km.
Neta is in full swing with its Southeast Asia expansions. It is building production facilities in Thailand and Indonesia, selling EVs in Malaysia, and even started deliveries of right-hand drive vehicles in Thailand in 2022. In June last year, Neta exported 4000 cars to overseas markets, 3,600 of which were a single batch to Thailand.
Furthermore, the company announced its intention to expand into Europe, most likely with a strong focus on Germany, the largest auto market in the region. This move would follow the footsteps of its competitors like Nio, BYD, Lynk&Co, and Great Wall Motor, who have already established a presence in the country.
Unlike in China or the US, station wagons are still popular in Europe, especially in Germany so that the Neta SS would be a perfect fit. Of course, they are being replaced by SUVs, and their fame is just fragments of what it used to be in the 90s, but Germany is one of the last station wagon strongholds. And the Chinese know it. Nio, for example, launched the estate variant of its ET5 sedan, ET5 Touring, to satisfy the needs of EU customers, according to the company. It was also the first car Nio launched in Europe at the same time as in China.
Another Chinese brand, SAIC-owned MG, took a similar approach. In 2022, the former British automaker launched the MG5 in Europe, the world’s first electric station wagon, according to the company. In China, it sells as Roewe Ei5 – the MG5 on the local market is only an ICE sedan with zero stars in the ANCAP crash test.
In October last year, Neta inked a cooperation agreement with Europe’s largest bank, BNP Paribas. The cooperation memorandum included financing, car insurance, and other services. The move was widely interpreted as an essential step towards entering European markets.
In April last year, Neta established a European subsidiary and started preparations for its car models, including the NETA S and NETA GT, to enter the EU market.
“We will start selling in Europe in the first quarter of next year. I expect the local market to give us some surprises. I think we have a chance in the European market with the competitiveness of our products,” Hozon Auto co-founder and CEO Zhang Yong said to China Daily.
For 2024, Neta has an ambitious plan to follow in the footsteps of its rival BYD, establish a presence in 50 global markets, and sell 100,000 vehicles overseas. In 2023, Neta sold 127,496 EVs 2023, down 16.16% from 152,073 the year before.
Zhang recently posted on his Weibo a survey asking Neta fans which badge would suit the new Neta SS best. Let us know which is your favorite in the comments.
Neta SS will start deliveries in mid-2024 in China and hit overseas markets later. We’ll keep an eye on it.
This name will neither be suitable nor allowed in Germany.
Wow…. SS for germany. Is that on purpose? They are missing just the right runes logo…
Excellent model for Europe in all but the name category… Hope this is some “until we find more suitable name” prank?
I am so happy every time I see a station wagon from China. This is what we want in Europe and perhaps especially in the Nordic countries. We seriously don’t want sedans. Nor all those “useless” big SUV’s.
It’s so easy to convert a sedan to a station wagon for the Industry. Why don’t they all offer it? Tell the Chinese brands to do some marketing research before they enter Europe. And don’t forget we also want towing capacity for two ton. “We all” have trailers in Europe. :))