Neta auto accused of inflating sales; dealers claim manufacturer says everyone is doing it

On July 20, it was reported that Nezha Auto has recently achieved aggressive sales targets by inflating sales figures, with the inflated sales exceeding 60,000 vehicles.

Reports indicate that Nezha Auto insures these vehicles before selling them to buyers, allowing the manufacturer to count this portion of cars as sales in advance, thus achieving monthly and quarterly sales targets. These vehicles are also referred to as "zero kilometer used cars."

According to the record copy sent by Neta to dealers, from January 2023 to March 2024, Neta has prematurely recorded at least 64,719 vehicles as sales through this method, accounting for more than half of the 117,000 vehicles it reported in these 15 months.

These records contain detailed information about each vehicle and the insurance policies purchased, as well as the names of the insurance agents. After finding a buyer, the dealer can refer to this information to transfer the policy to the new owner of the vehicle. A total of 64,719 vehicles were recorded in this way by Nezha in advance as sales.

A Nezha dealer revealed to the media: "Nezha Auto has clearly informed dealers that these vehicles have been insured in advance, so they are considered sold vehicles. We have to explain to buyers that the compulsory traffic accident liability insurance is a complimentary insurance and remind them that the insurance will expire early and needs to be renewed in a timely manner."

Another dealer stated that Neta started adopting this practice at the end of 2022 to obtain the new energy vehicle purchase subsidies that were set to expire that year.

Many "zero-kilometer used cars" provided by Nezha are still sitting in his warehouse, unsold. Nezha's attitude at the time was simply, "Just go for it, everyone else is doing it."

Data shows that Nezha Automotive reached its peak sales in 2022, with annual sales of 152,000 units, making it the sales champion among new forces that year; however, after that, Nezha entered a downward trend, with sales barely surpassing 1,000 units in the first quarter of this year.

Moreover, Nezha Automobile is now on the brink of bankruptcy. The bankruptcy reorganization case of its parent company, Hozon New Energy, was accepted by the court on June 12, marking Nezha's entry into the judicial reorganization stage.