Chinese phone manufacturer declares interest in EVs

360 Mobile, a China-based company that started its career as a mobile phone manufacturer and has recently been developing web services and cybersecurity solutions, has declared an intention to invest nearly half a billion USD in Hozon Auto, an EV maker.

Specifically, the company has already signed an agreement according to which it pledges to invest 2.9 billion yuan (approx. $454,000,000 USD) in the development of the Neta brand. The two companies intend to work on all-electric cars together and integrate online services into them.

Hozon Auto and its all-electric sub-brand Nezha (also known as Neta) are little known beyond China, but the Neta V e-SUV pictured in our gallery and the video ranked 13th best-selling EV in China in September with 5,000+ units sold. The company delivered over 7,000 Neta-badged vehicles last month, setting a new record and tripling the number from previous year.