KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Neta Auto Malaysia has revealed that its official launch will be taking place next week. This comes five months after the brand introduced the Neta V which was Malaysia’s cheapest EV priced at RM99,800.

According to the post on Facebook, the Neta V launch is happening on 25th October at IOI City Mall in Putrajaya. It appears that the EV will remain on display until the 29th of October 2023.

From the teaser picture, we can see the familiar Neta V which has been their sole product offering in Malaysia. Neta has other models including the Neta S and the Neta U which are offered in other markets including its home country in China.

So what is Neta launching next week? Besides officiating its local presence in Malaysia, we can expect a price revision for the Neta V which was mentioned by the brand back in August.

At the time, a dealer was spotted selling the Neta V at a roadshow in Johor for RN79,800. Eventually, its exclusive distributor, Intro Synergy, denied the pricing and said that the official pricing would be announced during a launch ceremony that was supposed to take place in the following month.

It is worth pointing out that fully imported EVs have to be priced upwards of RM100,000 due to Miti’s current policy. Unless of course, there’s a way around it through different means including post-sale rebates, direct savings on your car loan or there’s a plan for a local assembly.

With the recent arrival of BYD Dolphin, the Neta V is currently quite a tough sell due to its lack of performance, features and advanced safety tech. For starters, the Neta V gets a single motor that pushes 70kW (94hp) and 150Nm of torque. The 38.5kWh battery is rated to deliver 380km on a very lenient NEDC cycle and it supports 100kW DC fast charging as well as 6.6kW AC charging. There are no official 0-100km/h figures for the Neta V except that it claims to go from 0-50km/h in 3.9 seconds along with a top speed of 120km/h.

In the safety department, the Neta V only comes with two airbags, and there are no additional driver assists like autonomous emergency braking but it does come with stability control. On the inside, it gets a large 14.6″ portrait touch screen and there’s also a smart key that doubles as a fidget spinner. As a comparison, the BYD Dolphin which starts from RM100,530 OTR excluding insurance, offers 6 airbags, adaptive cruise control, lane centring assist, autonomous emergency braking and even rear cross-traffic alert.

A price cut for the Neta V would be necessary if the brand wants to compete not just with BYD, but also against other better-equipped petrol vehicles in the same price range. Would you consider the Neta V as your first EV if it is priced below RM80,000? — SoyaCincau