Here we have a Neta U, a cool Chinese full-electric crossover, fitted with green NEV license plates. NEV stands for New Energy Vehicle, a Chinese vehicle category that includes EVs, PHEVs & EREVs, and FCEVs. The car that I saw is painted in a color called (translated): Star Diamond Phantom Powder. Chinese car makers love to outdo one another when it comes to poetic color names. This must be one of the best. I’d simply call it light purple. But for sure, Star Diamond Phantom Powder is much better.
The infamous pussy-logo. What can I say? I have made so many jokes about it. Didn’t Neta see it..? Or am I the only one that sees it..? If so, what does that say about me? What does it say about Neta? I feel bad about my jokes because I like the Neta brand. They have cool cars, cool stuff, cool ideas. I will write much more about Neta on these pages. I love the Neta GT. Okay, that is that. So what does Neta say about their logo? Happily, via Neta’s website, we know:
Sounds pretty cool. But still a pussy to me.
Neta is one of China’s many new NEV brands. It is owned by a company called Hozon Auto. The Neta brand was launched in 2018. The Neta U is a compact crossover launched in 2020. In 2023, it was renamed to Neta U-II. At the same time, Neta launched a new upmarket version called Neta X. This kind of messy naming scheme is common among Chinese car makers. The car we have here is an original U.
It was raining that day, making my interior shots a bit worse than on a sunny day. The drops on the window always disturb my pics. I swiped! The interior of this particular car is a tad gray, but Neta also offers lighter interior colors. It has a twin-12.3-inch screen and an 8-inch touch screen in the center tunnel. That tunnel also houses the drive selector and a storage bin.
The Neta U is a front-wheel drive car. Power of the 2020-2022 model comes from a single electric motor with 204 hp and 310 Nm. The top speed is a rather slow 155 km/h but 0-100 is okay with 7 seconds. Electricity is stored in a 54 kWh ternary lithium battery pack for a range of 400 kilometers.
But what about the money? Well, these cars are cheap. In 2020, the base model only cost 139.800 yuan. Today, the base Neta U II (with the same motor and same range) goes for even less: 118.800 yuan or $16.3K. Sadly, the low prices haven’t translated into high sales. In October 2023, Neta only sold 9896 cars, good for a 41st position on the sales chart, below Dongfeng’s Aeolus, and above SAIC’s MG.