Hozon Auto’s Neta forms long-term agreement with CATL

Hozon Auto's EV brand Neta has signed a ten-year strategic battery cooperation with battery maker CATL. The Chinese companies have already collaborated for battery supply in the past.

Under the agreement, CATL will be the EV maker’s preferred battery supplier and CATL will provide Neta with market-competitive battery products and services. The Chinese duo will work together in related sectors like battery swapping, V2G (Vehicle to Grid), battery recycling, and domestic and foreign market development.

Neta’s product lineup comprises five new energy models: Aya, L, X, S, and GT. Of these five vehicles, the Aya, X, and GT are only available with electric powertrains, while the L and S are available even as range-extender EVs. The company is developing a shooting brake version of the latter and plans to introduce that derivative soon, co-founder and CEO Daniel Zhang confirmed in a teaser video on Weibo recently.

CATL is the world’s most prominent EV battery maker. According to a study from South Korean battery and energy research company SNE Research, the company has ranked number one in its business for seven years in a row. It manufactures the batteries of some of the world’s best-known EVs, including the Audi Q4 e-tron, BMW iX, Mercedes EQE, Mercedes EQS, Mercedes EQS SUV, Skoda Enyq, and the VW ID.4.

A month ago, CATL made headlines when it unveiled the Shenxing Plus LFP battery at the Beijing Auto Show. The new LFP battery promises a range of more than 1,000 km and can add up to 600 km of range with just ten minutes of charging.

Having aced battery development, CATL is testing the waters in a new vertical to become an even more significant player in the auto industry. The company has developed CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis (CIIC), an EV skateboard platform that integrates core components like batteries and motors into it and optimizes space and energy.

In January 2023, Neta announced that it would license CATL’s CIIC and plans to unveil the first car based on it by the end of 2024. The strategic collaboration between Neta Auto and CATL dates back to 2021. Neta had introduced its third series model, the Neta S, to the Chinese market in 2022.

catl.com, hozonauto.com, weibo.com, catl.com (SNE Research)