(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- Hozon Auto, the owner of the Chinese electric vehicle brand Neta, will begin production next month at its new plant for core parts under the tech branch Haozhi.

The plant’s first phase will have the capacity to make 100,000 sets of domain controllers, 150,000 range extenders, 150,000 electric drive units, 150,000 electronic control systems, and 300,000 thermal management systems a year, Chief Technology Officer Dai Dali said at an event yesterday.

Haozhi Technology, a subsidiary, will run the plant, which had total investment of CNY1 billion (USD138 million) and has a research and development team of more than 500.

Hozon Auto also unveiled its latest progress in supercomputing, chassis, electric drive, range extenders, and temperature control under Haozhi at the event. “We’re not selling future technologies, as the products showcased today are ready for mass production,” Dai noted.

“It took two years and an investment of CNY1 billion for the R&D team to achieve progress for the Haozhi brand,” he said. “This is extremely efficient.”

Hozon Auto plans to open its R&D achievements to the entire industry, Dai added. Analysts believe the company may embrace a licensing model similar to other EV startups, including Xpeng Motors and Leapmotor.

Founded in 2014, Hozon Auto released its first model four years later. So far, it has sold over 320,500 cars worldwide. The company has three production bases in Tongxiang, Yichun, and Nanjing.

Editor: Futura Costaglione