(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- Chinese electric car startup Neta Auto, also known as Hozon Motor, began accepting pre-orders for its autos in Indonesia yesterday and expects to start deliveries from October.

And from the second quarter next year, Neta will be assembling the cars locally, the Jiaxing, eastern Zhejiang province-based company said yesterday, citing the memorandum of understanding signed with local partner PT Handal Indonesia Motor on July 26.

Indonesia’s electric vehicle market has tremendous potential, and Neta’s cars are highly competitive in terms of design, intelligence and electrification, Wang Chengjie, president of the firm’s Indonesian branch, said at the ongoing Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show.

"We are very proud to bring our best products to this Southeast Asian country, we are confident that we can meet the needs of the Indonesian people and uphold the Indonesian government's commitment to making the automotive industry more environmentally friendly," he added.

Neta has been expanding its global footprint since last year. So far it has shipped around 8,000 vehicles to countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa as well as Central and South America.

Neta is also building a factory in Thailand, which will serve its main manufacturing base for right-hand-drive new energy vehicles which it will export to the Southeast Asian market.

Indonesia shifted 10,337 electric cars last year, according to data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries. The mini EV Wuling Air produced by SAIC-GM-Wuling, a joint venture between China’s SAIC Motors and Wuling Motors and US car giant General Motors, dominated the market with a 78 percent share.

Founded in 2018, Neta delivered 10,039 vehicles in July and has produced 320,506 autos so far.

Editor: Kim Taylor