NETA Automobile Burns Through 18.3 Billion Yuan in Three Years: Founder Now a Debtor, Former Sales Champion Loses 80,000 Yuan Per Vehicle
Once a shining star among new EV manufacturers and sales champion, NETA Automobile is now left in disarray as the market tide recedes. NETA’s journey from market dark horse to facing bankruptcy restructuring reflects the fierce competition in the EV industry.
According to reports from CCTV, NETA Automobile’s parent company, Hozon New Energy, accumulated a net loss of 18.3 billion yuan between 2021 and 2023. Despite preferential policies and investment from local governments in Yichun, Jiangxi, Nanning, Guangxi, and other regions (total investment exceeding 8 billion yuan), it was still unable to reverse the decline, leading to significant investment losses for local state-owned enterprises.
Looking back at its peak, NETA Automobile achieved the sales championship among new EV manufacturers in 2022 with 152,100 vehicles sold throughout the year. However, this prosperity did not last. Limited by product positioning and brand strength, its sales subsequently declined sharply, and its market share shrank significantly.
Financial data shows that under the pressure of years of losses, NETA Automobile lost more than 80,000 yuan for every vehicle sold. This loss-making business model ultimately led to a complete rupture of the company’s capital chain against the backdrop of a tightening capital environment and intensifying market competition.
Since October 2024, NETA Automobile has been caught in a vortex of negative news, with reports of layoffs, salary reductions, and unpaid contract payments emerging one after another. In December of the same year, a major change occurred in the company’s senior management, with former CEO Zhang Yong becoming an advisor and founder Fang Yunzhou taking over as CEO in an attempt to stabilize the situation through strategic adjustments.
Fang Yunzhou expressed deep apologies to employees in an internal letter, admitting that he bore the primary responsibility for the current difficulties. He also proposed six reform measures, including globalization based on the domestic market, and set an ambitious goal of achieving overall profitability in 2026.
Unfortunately, these self-rescue attempts failed to outrun time. On June 12th of last year, the Jiaxing Intermediate People’s Court formally ruled to accept Hozon New Energy’s bankruptcy restructuring case. The court has appointed several law firms as joint administrators, which means NETA Automobile has officially entered the judicial process of bankruptcy restructuring.
From industry leader to the brink of bankruptcy, NETA Automobile’s experience has sounded an alarm for all new EV manufacturers. Without sustained hematopoietic ability and a core technology moat, relying solely on low prices, volume, and external investment will ultimately be difficult to survive in the long run.