Chinese electric vehicle maker Hozon said Wednesday that it is partnering with Blilious Group, an Israeli car distributor and a regional partner of battery giant CATL, to sell its Neta U and V entry-level crossovers to local customers. This marks the entry of Hozon’s EVs into the Middle East region, just one month after the CATL-backed company began selling its entry-level EVs in Thailand and following a similar move by rival Leapmotor in Israel earlier this month. Sales of battery EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs in Israel nearly tripled in 2021 to 18,373 units from a year previously, according to figures released by Statista. [Hozon statement, in Chinese]