Did Neta, which burned 30 billion Yuan, actually come back to life with just 3 billion?

In 2022, Neta was still the most prominent among China's new force automakers, surpassing Nio, XPeng, and Li Auto to become the sales champion.

However, this turned out to be its final moment of glory.

In the short few years after, the plot turned sharply downward, factories halted production, employees were owed wages, suppliers blocked doors demanding debt... Neta, which once shouted about making cars for the people, ultimately could not withstand the new energy elimination match.

Nearly 500,000 Neta owners could only watch helplessly as their beloved cars became abandoned vehicles.

Some even posted signs on the rear of the cars: Limited edition cars, repair costs are huge, do not approach!

Many thought this story had ended. No one expected that over a year after bankruptcy reorganization, Neta Auto actually waited for the "Taiyi Realist" to revive it itself — Taiyi Shenglian.

The restructuring plan disclosed in September 2026 shows that this company plans to invest 3 billion Yuan to exchange for approximately 70.62% equity of Hozon New Energy.

But this 3 billion Yuan cannot all be used for making cars. 1.167 billion Yuan must first be used to repay debts and restructure, leaving only 1.833 billion Yuan to restore production and turnover.

And Neta accumulated losses of 18.373 billion Yuan from 2021 to 2023 over three years.

Neta Auto, which lost 18.3 billion Yuan in 3 years, leaving 500,000 owners stranded, on what grounds is it revived again?

01

Burned 18.3 billion, only took 3 years

How long does it take a car company to go from sales champion to bankruptcy?

Neta's answer is: less than 3 years.

In 2022, with 152,100 vehicles, it topped the new force automakers in sales.

However, just three years later, a piece of bad news suddenly came: Neta was taken to court for owing advertising fees, and the bankruptcy reorganization procedure had begun.

Why was a car circle star company worth billions in financing tripped up by over 5 million Yuan in goods payments?

The answer has long been hidden in Neta's most distinctive tag: Cheap.

In 2014, Fang Yunzhou left Chery to start a business, establishing Hozon New Energy, which was the predecessor of Neta.

At the beginning of its founding, financing was difficult, and the company once failed to pay wages for half a year.

So from the beginning, Neta understood a simple principle earlier than many new forces: Don't talk about changing the world yet, just survive first.

What truly injected the soul into Neta was another key figure — marketing veteran Zhang Yong, also from Chery.

After Zhang Yong joined, the first thing he did was rename. Changing the forgettable "Hozon Auto" to a name known by all Chinese people — Neta.

Secondly, he found the most realistic marketing route for Neta.打出 "Make cars for the people" slogan, choose the consumption market below 200,000 Yuan, avoiding the 300,000-400,000 Yuan price bracket where Nio, XPeng compete most fiercely.

In 2019, Neta first挤进了 the new force table. That year, Nio delivered 20,000 vehicles, WM Motor 16,000, XPeng 16,000, Neta with 10,006 vehicles just crossed 10,000, not very eye-catching.

But it had a very clear tag: Cheap. At that time, Neta N01 after subsidies had a starting price of only 66,800 Yuan.

Facts proved, this trick really works. Relying on low-price models like Neta V, its sales like sat on a rocket.

But looking back, Neta's most glorious time was also its most dangerous time. The tag "Low price cars" was firmly welded on the body, becoming the tag that was difficult to shake off in the future.

After securing the sales champion in 2022, Neta immediately entered the mid-to-high-end market, launching the Neta GT priced at 178,800 Yuan-226,800 Yuan. As a result, throughout 2023, it delivered only 127,500 vehicles, failing to complete the annual sales target of 250,000.

In 2022, it won the sales champion with 150,000 vehicle sales, but left 6.67 billion Yuan net loss. By 2023, when Nio, XPeng, and Leapmotor had already achieved profitability, Neta was still deeply mired in losses.

Deeply mired in losses, financing was difficult, that debt payment eventually became the last straw. The sales champion pushed out by low prices was eventually trapped by low prices.

And in the new energy elimination match, such "abandoned vehicles" are not just Neta.

02

Abandoned bankrupt car companies left a mess of pits

After the restructuring news spread, some questioned: Such a huge pit, is there actually anyone scrambling to take over?

According to Cailian Press reports, in Neta Auto 2026 restructuring plan, only the ordinary claims, priority claims and employee claims included in the plan exceed 14 billion Yuan.

Actually, capital eyeing "abandoned car companies" is not just one family.

After WM Motor reorganized, new investors announced investment funds to restart the Wenzhou factory, even re-raised the slogans of production resumption and IPO. After HiPhi entered restructuring, it also designed plans such as debt-to-equity swap.

New energy car companies burn money while alive, after they die, why did they become delicacies instead?

The answer is, creating a car company from scratch is a money-burning black hole, but acquiring a fallen car company is a rather cost-effective deal.

Take Neta for example, after bankruptcy reorganization acceptance, its total asset evaluation market value is about 1.742 billion Yuan, liquidation value is even only about 830 million Yuan.

Now Taiyi Shenglian investing 3 billion Yuan can obtain about 70.62% equity of Hozon New Energy.

Moreover, what capital is truly eyeing is the car production lines Neta spent ten years, burned over 10 billion after, left behind.

If starting a car company from scratch today, must assemble R&D teams, develop models, test verification, polish supply chains, also build factories, apply for qualification certificates, lay out sales and after-sales networks. Every step, means time and real gold and silver.

Although Neta has fallen, the previous car production lines did not scrap with it.

Its vehicle platforms, equipment and factories are not completely stopped, and has even laid out production bases such as Tongxiang, Yichun, Nanning, overseas has Thailand, Indonesia and other market channel layouts.

Now the restructuring plan to undertake, is precisely these core assets.

Precisely because of this, the more brutal the new energy elimination match, the more likely abandoned car companies will have someone take over.

As of May 2026, there have been 23 new energy car companies entering bankruptcy, restructuring or substantive stoppage, cumulative compliant sales about 850,000 vehicles.

The new energy elimination match to today, a batch of car companies burned the money for R&D for latercomers, built factories, stepped on the supply chain pits, finally fell at the finish line due to cash flow break.

Consumers avoid abandoned vehicles in the used car market, but capital started looking at abandoned car companies to buy the dip in the primary market.

After all, car production lines can be used again, historical debts can even be rearranged through restructuring.

But the trust consumers have lost, no one knows how much it costs to buy back.

03

"Resurrected" abandoned cars still need to earn back reputation

For car companies, bankruptcy reorganization may just be the company changed a boss.

For owners, it could be a car bought for over 100,000 Yuan suddenly became "electronic orphans".

In the era of smart electric vehicles, a car is no longer just "four wheels and a battery". Behind it are connected vehicle service, mobile App, intelligent driving systems, three electric diagnosis programs, and data that only original manufacturers have permission to view.

Once the car company disappears, the "digital umbilical cord" behind the whole car is cut off.

For example, "Securities Times" once reported, a WM Motor E.5 owner encountered power battery failure, drove the car to a third-party repair shop, but couldn't even find the problem. Reason, the three electric detection programs and fault codes are all in the original factory's hands.

Finally really need to change the battery, quote high up to tens of thousands of Yuan, fast catching up to one-third of the original car price.

Not only WM Motor, there was also a HiPhi owner, accidentally hit the bumper, because original factory parts discontinued supply, looked for months still didn't find suitable parts.

So "Limited edition cars, repair is very expensive", is really not just owner self-mockery.

Besides repair difficulty, saying stop just stop service also makes owners walk on thin ice.

In 2025, "Legal Daily" reported, a Neta owner ready to drive to work, but suddenly found Neta App stop service, mobile key malfunctioned, couldn't even lock the car door.

Although service recovered a few hours later, those few days, he didn't dare to drive the car.

More troublesome is still behind, after car insurance expiration, he asked several insurance companies continuously, didn't succeed in buying commercial insurance, could only "run naked" on the road.

Also Neta owners received sales point notices, vehicles listed in high risk directory. The original insurance company also directly indicated, because car company operational problems occurred, some parts supply existence risk, car loss insurance cannot continue underwriting.

In response to this situation, the law actually gave car companies a red line long ago. "Car Sales Management Measures" clearly requires, model production stop or sales stop, suppliers still should guarantee at least 10 years of parts supply and corresponding after-sales service.

But the problem is, a company if connect employee wages and supplier goods payments cannot pay out, originally promised ten years after-sales, can only become unpaid bills no one cashes out.

Of course, not all "abandoned cars" will finally become orphans.

At the end of 2024 JiYue fell into operational crisis, shareholder side continues intervention after-sales.

By 2025, JiYue cooperated with Lynk & Co, designated stores continue provide repair services, road rescue and part intelligent driving OTA also able to continue.

This case actually shows one thing: After car companies go bankrupt, after-sales whether can continue, is not technical problem, just look at whether anyone willing to continue responsible.

This is also Neta's real problem. Once sold 152,100 vehicles Neta, now restructuring first stage, only plan from 10,000 vehicles start again.

But before persuading these 10,000 new owners to pay money, it first must let nearly 500,000 old owners re-trust one thing: This time, car company won't throw them on the halfway again.

After all, car companies can bankruptcy reorganize, consumer trust cannot restart with one click.

In mythology, what saved Ne Zha was his master Taiyi Zhenren, who constructed his body using lotus roots. In reality, the investor saving Neta Auto has named themselves"Taiyi Shenglian". This appears quite dramatic and delivers an emotional impact.

On the morning of September 11, Neta Auto's parent company Hozon New Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hozon New Energy") held its fourth creditors' meeting in bankruptcy reorganization via online format to vote on the "Restructuring Plan (Draft)". Zhejiang Taiyi Shenglian Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Taiyi Shenglian"), as the restructuring investor, plans to invest 3 billion yuan for restructuring investment and obtain approximately 70.62% of Hozon New Energy's equity, mastering the operating control rights of the enterprise after restructuring.

According to the content of the "Restructuring Plan (Draft)", the 3 billion yuan that Taiyi Shenglian intends to invest will be used in two parts: 1.167 billion yuan will be used to repay relevant claims corresponding to assets to be retained and bankruptcy expenses; the remaining 1.833 billion yuan will be used to supplement Hozon New Energy's working capital, supporting its operation and development after restructuring.

It is understood that the ordinary claims in this Neta Auto restructuring amount to 11.7 billion yuan, involving over 1,600 households; priority claims amount to about 2.2 billion yuan, involving 9 households. Regarding repayment methods, for ordinary claims below 800,000 yuan, the repayment rate is about 12%, paying 10,000 yuan within the first 12 months, and paying the remaining approximately 80,000 yuan within two years, with excess amounts converted into equity; priority claim amounts remain unchanged, paying interest for the first three years and repaying principal starting from the fourth year.

In terms of asset disposal, the "Restructuring Plan (Draft)" also clearly states that this restructuring will retain core assets related to Neta X and Neta L, while equipment related to Neta S and Neta GT will be disposed of as non-core assets. Some media reports stated that Taiyi Shenglian's management team possesses automotive industry operation and bankruptcy restructuring experience and had managed the restructuring of listed companies in the parts industry.

The mastermind behind the Taiyi Shenglian company is actually Shanzi High-Tech, a company transformed from a traditional real estate enterprise to high-end manufacturing, which previously entered whole vehicle manufacturing by acquiring Hebei Hongxing Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and cooperating with the Harbin Municipal Government to establish Heilongjiang Yunfeng Automobile, but the automotive business progress was not smooth.

During Hozon New Energy's public recruitment for restructuring investors in August 2025, Shanzi High-Tech was the sole prospective investor and paid a security deposit of 50 million yuan. Taiyi Shenglian is indeed the entity specifically established by Shanzi High-Tech for this restructuring. Qichacha shows that this company was registered in April 2026, established as a partnership by Zhejiang Shanzi Holding Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Shanzi Yuxu Technology Co., Ltd., with the actual controller being Ye Ji, chairman of Shanzi High-Tech, and registered capital of 3.001 billion yuan.

The "Restructuring Plan (Draft)" also planned a "Three-Step" strategy for Neta Auto:

Step 1: Restart Neta X model production, mainly targeting overseas markets, with a target annual sales volume of 10,000 units. Retaining production qualifications is the most critical task for Neta Auto at present. From November 2024 until now, Neta has not produced for two years. If production is lower than 2,000 vehicles for two consecutive years, it might be listed on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Special Publicity List. That is to say, Neta must achieve production resumption within the next 4 months. The Neta X proposed to restart production first is exactly the main model for Neta Auto's previous overseas expansion. The "Restructuring Plan (Draft)" discloses that the model has already received some intention orders.

Step 2: Develop adapted models for markets such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, with a target annual production of 300,000 units to further amplify overseas market advantages.

Step 3: Build global intelligent models, aiming for an annual output value of 40 billion yuan, and start IPO preparation work.

However, the "Restructuring Plan (Draft)" did not propose a clear timeline for the "Three-Step" strategy. Judging from the "Three-Step" strategy, Neta still chooses to break through through overseas markets. This is easy to understand, because the competition in the domestic market is no longer the same as before. Whether in brand reputation, technological reserves, or channel coverage, Neta no longer possesses competitiveness in China. However, overseas is not a blue ocean either. With the pressure on domestic market sales, domestic independent automakers are going overseas in batches, including Neta's previous overseas market Thailand, where EV competition is becoming increasingly intense. It is relatively difficult for Neta to break through with an old model.

Additionally, the draft also mentions that Neta Auto will rebuild confidence in upstream supply chain cooperation, restore official spare parts supply, fully restart after-sales maintenance and repair, and activate existing service networks. For the approximately 400,000 Neta car owners nationwide, this is the most practical positive information.

However, it needs to be noted that Taiyi Shenglian company's 3.001 billion yuan registered capital is currently in the subscribed state, not paid-in. Furthermore, the voting results of this "Restructuring Plan (Draft)" have not yet been released.

This means that before the money actually arrives, everything still remains uncertain. HiPhi Auto serves as a cautionary tale. After repeatedly being let down by the Saudi Investment Department and iAuto Group, in 2025, the Lebanese company EV Eletra and Neta's parent Human Horizons established Jiangsu HiPhi Auto Co., Ltd., announcing an investment of 600 million USD (including 100 million USD deposit). Just when the outside world thought the restructuring was stable, this money never arrived on time, eventually falling through, and HiPhi's revival ended with nothing.

Even if the 3 billion yuan arrives smoothly, only 1.833 billion yuan can truly be used for operational infusion. For car manufacturing, this is just a drop in the bucket. For example: NIO Chairman Li Bin raised the threshold for car manufacturing from 20 billion yuan to 40 billion yuan in 2021. In the first half of this year, only Leapmotor among the new forces achieved profitability. Li Auto, which was profitable first, had a net loss of 3.994 billion yuan in the first half of this year, Xpeng lost 3.12 billion yuan, and NIO lost 0.86 billion yuan. Even these top new forces are still struggling on the line of profit and loss, and Neta wants to stand firm, needing continuous capital infusion later.