Less than three months after its grand debut, Neta has exited the Singapore market.
Tucked away at One Commonwealth, the Neta showroom was once heralded as a sign of bold ambitions, a local beachhead for a Chinese upstart looking to go global.
But, it appears that the showroom has now closed its doors permanently.
Grand opening to closed curtains
It had all started with a respectable enough fanfare. At the 2025 Singapore Motorshow, the Neta X and Neta Aya were unveiled at Suntec City, targeting the city’s mainstream EV audience.
However, only four Neta vehicles have been registered in Singapore to date. Two in November last year (even before the official launch) and two in January. Since then, the trail has gone cold. We suspect these four units were all owned by Evology Automobile, and not a single customer unit exists today.
Evology, the firm charged with Neta’s local sales and support, was only incorporated on 4 June 2024. What’s left now is a very modern kind of ghost story: a brand that barely had time to leave tyre marks before it vanished.
Trouble was brewing before it began
Of course, the quiet collapse here may just be the local echo of a much louder crisis happening back home.
Neta is owned by Shanghai-based Hozon New Energy Automobile, a company that once basked in state-backed funding and optimism. But optimism only goes so far, and in recent months, Neta’s trajectory has started looking like a nosedive.
According to Chinese media, the company is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after a 4 billion yuan funding round fell through. In January 2025, year-on-year sales dropped a staggering 98 per cent. Back in November, the company reportedly halted production at its Zhejiang plant and slashed salaries. Not quite the signs of a firm in rude health.
Between 2021 and 2023, Neta reportedly racked up losses of 17.2 billion yuan. That’s the sort of number that no amount of positive press or showroom gloss can hide forever.
A crowded battlefield
It’s worth noting that Neta isn’t alone in its struggles. China’s EV battlefield is extremely crowded today, with dozens of players jostling for space, speed, and survival.
Neta, once a promising player in the affordable EV space, may have overreached by pivoting towards the premium segment. Competing against well-entrenched names like BYD was never going to be easy, especially when all of them have deeper pockets, better brand equity, and broader reach.
What’s left for Neta now is unclear. A phoenix moment feels unlikely. And in Singapore, at least, it’s safe to say the brand has packed its bags before even finishing the welcome drinks.
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