Hozon-owned Neta Auto announced today that it has partnered with the American company Nvidia for its future model to be equipped with the Nvidia DRIVE Orin computing platform, as per CnEVPost.
The Chinese automaker said in a statement that the partnership was inked at Neta’s factory in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province.
Neta focuses on the cheap EV market
Remarkably, the company is striving to reach the cheap EV market to make its models accessible to ordinary people in the country. The Neta V and Neta U only cost about 100,000 yuan ($13,830).
Meanwhile, the flagship sedan Neta S is formally launched, costing about RMB 199,800 to RMB 338,800 on July 31.
Neta’s assisted driving chip
Like its local competitors (NIO and XPeng Motors), Neta did not equip its flagship model with Nvidia’s Orin chip. It decided to use the MDC610 computing platform from Huawei instead.
Meanwhile, Neta utilized Horizon Robotic’s Journey 3 chip for its newly released model Neta U-II electric SUV in China. It is said to be Neta U’s replacement in the market. As for the pricing, it ranges from RMB 129,800 to RMB 159,800.
Neta and Nvidia partnership
Based on the company’s statement, Neta and Nvidia will work closely together to develop the new EE architecture for the central supercomputing platform of the EV maker.
Neta’s CEO Zhang Yong asserted that the company is exploring a new generation of core technologies and models for the central computing EE architecture. It is part of the partnership’s effort to further improve vehicle intelligence and safety.
The Nvidia DRIVE Orin system-on-chip would be installed in Neta’s future models. The said chip has “a new GPU and a 12-core ARM CPU with up to 254 TOPS of computing power per chip, about 10 times the computing power of most mainstream chips,” the company said.
Furthermore, Neta also claimed that it would keep working on the launch of Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin chip and the next-generation Thor chip.
Neta’s market performance
Based on the data released this month, Neta sold 18,005 units in September, up from 7,699 in the same month of the previous year by 133.86%. Additionally, it increased by 12.41% from 16,017 units in August.
In comparison to the same period last year, Neta delivered 111,190 automobiles, an increase of 168.40% from 41,427 units.
The operation of DRIVE Orin chips is intended to be software-defined. It is specifically built to manage continuous upgrades during the vehicle’s lifespan. Having said that, it could potentially advance Neta’s status in the electric vehiclerace.
