Neta Aya Shows How Difficult It Is To Get A Car Right
The Straits Times|January 18, 2025
The Chinese electric vehicle gets some things right, but needs work on other areas for it to be taken seriously
Lee Nian Tjoe
Neta Aya Shows How Difficult It Is To Get A Car Right

The video feed from the Neta Aya's reverse camera is crisp and accurate. Apart from the sharp video feed and its key, which is a fidget spinner, the latest Chinese electric vehicle (EV) to be introduced in Singapore is very much about no-frills motoring.

Think of it as a variation of the ubiquitous Bluecar from the BlueSG car-sharing service with two more doors.

On the move, the Aya makes a whirling noise similar to the Bluecar. Meant to alert pedestrians that it is approaching, the sound is very audible in the cabin. There is an option to switch to a repeating chime, which is just as intrusive.

As the alert cuts off at speeds above 30kmh, I found myself wanting to accelerate as quickly as possible to breach that threshold to stop the incessant sound.

Neta launched its first car in 2018, the same year as fellow Chinese EV brand Ora.

But unlike Ora, which is part of the larger Chinese automotive group Great Wall Motor, Neta is a standalone entity. The Shanghai-based company has to figure out how to build a car from the ground up.

Not lacking in ambitions, it has set up manufacturing plants in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

This story is from the January 18, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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This story is from the January 18, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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