Apr 6, 2025

Troubled China EV brand Neta shutters Singapore showroom less than three months after opening The Commonwealth showroom was empty of cars and personnel during operating hours, calls went unanswered Follow The premises at One Commonwealth was opened by the brand’s Singapore distributor and dealer Evology Automobile in January. PHOTO: DERRYN WONG, BT [SINGAPORE] Less than three months after its debut, beleaguered Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand Neta has quietly shut its first and only showroom in Singapore – casting doubt over its future in the market. The premises at One Commonwealth was opened by the brand’s Singapore distributor and dealer Evology Automobile in January. The showroom was closed when The Business Times visited during opening hours on Saturday (Apr 5) and Sunday. On both occasions, no employees were present nor were any cars on display in the showroom. No signs explaining the reasons for the closure were posted. Calls to the dealer’s hotline went unanswered and its social media accounts made no mention of the closure. At the time of publication, BT queries to Neta and Evology on the status of the business in Singapore were not answered. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up No personnel were present, nor any signs explaining the closure were posted when BT visited during operating hours on Apr 5 and 6. PHOTO: DERRYN WONG, BT Neta, which targets a mainstream audience, is owned by Shanghai-based Hozon New Energy Automobile. Hozon is partly state-owned, and received five billion yuan (S$923.6 million) funding from state-owned capital firms last year. Evology Automobile was incorporated in Singapore on Jun 4, 2024, with a director, Lawrence Lim. Neta targets a mainstream audience, counting the likes of BYD and Toyota as its competition. SEE ALSO More The brand debuted two EV models on Jan 9 at Suntec City, the Neta X and Neta Aya, with media reports saying that the brand nabbed 52 orders for the cars. According to Land Transport Authority data, Neta has registered four vehicles here to date: two in November 2024 and another two in January 2025. Neta at home in China has faced increasing problems in recent times, which could explain the abrupt halt in operations at the Singapore showroom. After finding success with affordable EVs in the last few years, its venture into more advanced, expensive models from 2021 seem to have stalled with stiff competition in that sector across the Chinese domestic market from BYD, GAC, XPeng and more. In March, China media reported that the brand stands on the brink of bankruptcy after a roughly four billion yuan funding round fell through. Its January sales were down 98 per cent year on year. In November 2024, China media reported that the company halted production at its Zhejiang factory and cut salaries as its sales performance tanked in the domestic market. The company experienced substantial financial losses between 2021 and 2023, amounting to a total of 17.2 billion yuan. S&P Global said that the China automotive industry is now at the start of a period of major consolidation, with a huge restructuring of state-owned automotive entities now on the cars. By 2030, it said, only major players will be left and “dozens” of weaker players are expected to exit the market. Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.