Further enhancing overseas market influence and strategically adjusting to address domestic challenges
On March 20, NETA Auto, a Chinese automotive brand under Hozon New Energy Auto Co., Ltd., held a dealer conference in Bangkok, Thailand. NETA Auto signed a cooperation framework agreement with NLTH (Thailand), a professional automotive financial institution in Thailand. The two parties plan to carry out comprehensive cooperation in the wholesale and retail fields, with a credit line of up to THB 10 billion (CNY 2.15 billion).
NETA Auto also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with local foundry enterprise BGAC. They plan to continue providing production support for NETA Auto in the next five years. The localization production of Neta X will be launched in July this year. NETA Auto is committed to making Thailand an export base for Southeast Asia, with an expected export production capacity of 50% in the future.
In addition, NETA Auto signed a cooperation framework agreement on spare parts supply chain financial support and a battery refurbishment center with Hong Kong Sola Technology and Kintai Automobile Industry respectively.
According to statistics from Autolife Thailand, a professional automotive media in Thailand, NETA Auto ranked third in the global brand sales of new energy vehicles and first among new forces in Thailand in 2024. Its sales volume in Thailand reached 7,969 units within the year, with a market share of 11.4% in the segment market. However, this sales volume is still far from achieving economies of scale in the regional market.
On March 19, NETA Auto held a supplier conference at its headquarter to discuss debt solutions and revealed its future development strategy, indicating that it may transform into a service-oriented company similar to IBM in the automotive field in the future.
In recent years, NETA Auto has faced severe market challenges in China. In 2024, the cumulative sales volume of NETA Auto in the domestic market was only 43,500 units, a year-on-year decrease of 58.77%. The sharp decline in sales volume directly led to a reduction in revenue. NETA Auto' total liabilities approached CNY 10 billion, of which the amount owed to suppliers accounted for nearly two-thirds. In this situation, NETA Auto had to seek strategic adjustments to cope with the difficulties.