Hozon New Energy: the group, its brands and who controls it
Facts checked
Hozon New Energy was registered in October 2014 in Tongxiang, Zhejiang, by Fang Yunzhou, a former Chery engineer. Its cars were sold under the Neta name from 2018. Neta undercut the other electric-car startups — the N01, V and Aya were small, cheap models sold heavily to ride-hailing fleets — and in 2022 it outsold NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto with 152,073 registrations. It was backed by municipal state capital: investment vehicles connected to Yichun in Jiangxi, Nanning in Guangxi and Tongxiang itself put in more than RMB 5bn between them.
The model that worked at the bottom of the market did not survive the price war. Sales fell to 127,496 in 2023 and 87,684 in 2024. Salaries were delayed through 2024, layoffs followed in November, chief executive Zhang Yong left in December and Fang Yunzhou took the job back. A US$600m funding round collapsed in March 2025. Production stopped, dealers protested at the Tongxiang plant, and in July 2025 Reuters reported that Neta had booked at least 64,719 sales early between January 2023 and March 2024 by insuring cars before they were delivered.
A creditor filed for bankruptcy review in May 2025 and the process was confirmed in June; the case is being handled in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, with Zhejiang Zicheng Law Firm as administrator. By 12 September 2025 some 1,631 creditors had filed RMB 5.1bn of claims, with the eventual total expected to pass RMB 26bn. Chinese reporting through January 2026 named the Shenzhen-listed Shanzi High-Tech as the sole declared intended restructuring investor, proposing RMB 4.5bn for 68% of a reorganised company, with the statutory deadline for a restructuring plan falling on 11 March 2026.
What happened after that deadline is not established. English-language trade coverage of Neta stops in 2025, and the Chinese sources that describe the outcome are self-published stock-forum posts that contradict each other. The company's most valuable asset is its pair of manufacturing licences, which the state has stopped issuing; holding them requires building vehicles. This record leaves the outcome unresolved rather than guessing at it.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 合众 “huh-JONG” 合 hé 'to join' + 众 zhòng 'the many' — 'bringing the many together' |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. |
| Ownership | Mixed ownership |
| Founded | 2014 by Fang Yunzhou |
| Headquarters | Tongxiang, Zhejiang, China |
| Vehicles | Cars |
| Listings | Not listed |
| Peak sales | 152,073 vehicles in 2022, ahead of NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto that year |
| Sales collapse | 127,496 in 2023, 87,684 in 2024, 1,213 in 2025 |
| Accumulated losses | More than RMB 18.3bn of net losses between 2021 and 2023, per its June 2024 Hong Kong listing filing |
| Bankruptcy review | Filed by a creditor on 13 May 2025 and confirmed on 13 June 2025; announced publicly on 16 June 2025 |
| Court and administrator | Handled in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, under the supervision of the Zhejiang High People's Court, with Zhejiang Zicheng Law Firm as administrator |
| Creditor claims | RMB 5.1bn filed by 1,631 creditors as of 12 September 2025; the company said the total could exceed RMB 26bn |
| Proposed restructuring investor | Shanzi High-Tech (SZSE 000981), reported in January 2026 as the sole declared intended investor with a plan for 68% for RMB 4.5bn; plan deadline 11 March 2026 |
Ownership tree
- Hozon New Energy (group)
- Neta (brand) Held at 100%
Who controls Hozon New Energy?
Nanning Minsheng New Energy Industry Investment Partnership holds a stake in Hozon New Energy at 11.2%.
Largest single shareholder on the list published for 2023. Municipal state capital from Nanning, Yichun and Tongxiang together put more than RMB 5bn into Hozon. The figure is undated and was not checked against a filing.
| Holder | What it is | Share | Since | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fang Yunzhou | holds a stake in | not published | October 2014 | Founder of Hozon New Energy; he returned as chief executive in December 2024 as the company's finances collapsed. His shareholding was not verified. |
| Yichun Jinhe Equity Investment Co., Ltd. | holds a stake in | 7.96% | not published | Jiangxi state-linked investment vehicle from Yichun, listed among Hozon's largest shareholders for 2023. The figure is undated and was not checked against a filing. |
Brands
| Brand | Held | Origin | Founded | Models | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 哪吒Neta | directly | China | 2018 | 2 | 4 |
Hozon New Energy: questions people ask
- Is Neta still in business?
- Not as a normal carmaker. Its parent Hozon New Energy has been in court-supervised bankruptcy reorganisation in Jiaxing, Zhejiang since June 2025, production stopped in late 2024 and it sold 1,213 cars in 2025. A restructuring plan was due by 11 March 2026 and the outcome is not confirmed by any source this record could verify.
- Who owned Hozon?
- It was privately founded by Fang Yunzhou in 2014 and funded largely by municipal state investment vehicles — from Yichun, Nanning and Tongxiang — together with private funds. It never completed a stock-market listing, though it filed in Hong Kong in 2024.
- What happens to people who own a Neta?
- Hozon said in September 2025 that it had more than 400,000 owners and that keeping the company running was the only way to protect them. Parts and after-sales support in overseas markets have been handled through local distributors during the reorganisation.
- Why is Hozon's brand called Neta?
- 哪吒 (Nézhā) is a child deity from Chinese mythology, best known from the Ming novel Investiture of the Gods. Hozon is the romanised company name (合众); Neta is the car brand.
Related
Sources for Hozon New Energy
- Wikipedia, Hozon Auto. Read . Founding, shareholders, sales by year, the collapse timeline and the Reuters early-booking report
- Yicai Global, Chinese EV Maker Hozon Auto Goes Into Bankruptcy Review. Read . Court, administrator, filing dates and accumulated losses
- Yicai Global, Hozon Auto Reveals Creditor Claims in Bankruptcy Case. Read . Claims filed as of 12 September 2025 and the owner count
- Tencent News, 哪吒重整新进展：最迟3月定方案，造车双资质有望保住 (Neta restructuring: plan due by March at the latest). Read . Chinese-language report of January 2026 naming Shanzi High-Tech, the 11 March 2026 deadline and the manufacturing-licence condition
- CnEVPost, Neta reportedly set to resume production. Read . August 2025 report of salary payments resuming and 47 parties expressing interest in the restructuring