Glovemaker Careplus signs Neta EV deal with GoAuto – plant in Chembong N9, CKD Neta V coming soon?

Glove company Careplus has signed an electric vehicle deal with GoAuto that will include the setting-up of an importation, distribution, assembling and manufacturing hub for EVs via a couple of joint venture companies. The glovemaker is listed on Bursa Malaysia the deal was announced in a filing with the bourse dated June 2.

One of the JV companies will be for the manufacturing plant, and the parties have earmarked a 74-acre land in Chembong, Negeri Sembilan for the purpose. The land is currently owned by Careplus, which will hold 51% stake in the venture. The land is described as “not currently yielding any returns” to the glovemaker, which was founded in 2010.

The second JV company is Intro Synergy, currently a wholly-owned GoAuto subsidiary that Careplus will buy a 30% stake by way of share swap. This company is responsible for the importation, distribution and sales business of the Neta EV brand.

Careplus also intends to step its toes into the vehicle retailing business, and a separate JV company will be set up to open Neta EV dealerships “and to further expand into dealership of other EV brands with the support from GoAuto’s expertise”. GoAuto will also “use its best endeavour to direct other vehicle brands distribution” to this JV, which is 70% controlled by Careplus.

Chinese EV brand Neta made its Malaysian debut last month with the Neta V, currently Malaysia’s cheapest EV at RM99,800. The first 100 customers received a RM10,000 rebate to make it RM89,800 – that introductory offer has been fully redeemed, so how much cheaper do you expect a future CKD Neta V to be?

The five-door V has a 38.54 kWh battery that’s good for 380 km range in the NEDC. It powers an e-motor with 95 PS/150 Nm – 0-50 km/h takes 3.9 seconds and top speed is a modest 120 km/h.

The Neta V supports AC charging at a max of 6.6 kW, with a full charge taking eight hours. DC fast charging at 100 kW gets the battery from 30% to 80% state of charge in 30 minutes. There’s also a vehicle-to-load (V2L) system capable of delivering up to 3.3 kW to your accessories. More on the Neta V here.

If the budget V looks a bit odd to you, check out the Neta S electric sedan that GoAuto has brought in for previews. The sleek four-door has 462 PS, up to 715 km range and scissor doors.

Neta isn’t really a household name in its homeland, which is awash with EV makers, but it has done well in coming into ASEAN early in our EV journey. The Neta V went on sale in Thailand before Malaysia, and Zhejiang-based Hozon New Energy Automobile (the company behind Neta) inked an agreement last month to begin production of the V there from 2024. The S sedan and U SUV have been mentioned as potential future models.

GALLERY: Neta V in Malaysia