Shanghai (ZXZC)- HOZON Auto, a Chinese startup owning the EV brand “Nezha”, will strive to hit the annual sales target of 40,000-50,000 units for 2021, Zhang Yong, co-founder and CEO of HOZON Auto, revealed at a press conference.

For the year of 2020, the EV manufacturer saw its sales shoot up 51% year on year to 15,091 units. In the first month of 2021, the company sold 2,195 new vehicles, a precipitous rise of 119.3% from a year earlier.

The upward movement in sales should be mainly credited to the startup's efforts in product, sales channels and charging networks.

2021 Nezha U; photo credit: Nezha

In 2020, the company rolled out two mass-produced models, namely the Nezha U and the Nezha V. Under the plan named “Sea of Clouds”, HOZON Auto moved down their products and services to lower tier markets, so as to further facilitate consumers in buying cars. The automaker has to-date deployed direct-sale stores in 13 cities of China.

Moreover, HOZON Auto has already launched 60 smart fast charging stations and 1,210 fast charging piles since its charging service was released in last September.

Regarding the plans for 2021, HOZON Auto attempts to roll out the refreshed models of both the Nezha U and the Nezha V. It is noteworthy that the Nezha U will come with a variant boasting a range of up to 610km, and its version designed for ride-hailing services will be available for swappable battery pack.

Eureka 03 concept; photo credit: Nezha

In addition, the mass-produced version of the Eureka 03 will make its debut at the Auto China 2021. The production model will be armed with 3 LiDARs, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensor inputs and 18 cameras, and is able to perform Level 4 autonomous driving functions in some scenarios based on the next-generation domain controller.

HOZON Auto said it plans to deploy 100 battery swapping stations in five cities this year, eyeing the capability of serving 10,000 vehicles per day.