Byton Going Bye-bye? Chinese Carmaker Suspends Operations
Chinese automaker Byton seemed ready to go as recently as April, but the global economic downturn has made it hard to sell premium EVs from China.
Chinese automaker Byton seemed ready to go as recently as April, but the global economic downturn has made it hard to sell premium EVs from China.
In a bit of good news for a world that’s wondering when it might, hopefully, return to normal in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, another electric car factory is re-opening its doors in China. What’s more, this one is building something we can all get excited about. That’s because production for the all-electric and terribly pretty Byton M-Byte crossover has officially begun. And as promised — Byton has kept the massive, 48″ infotainment display!
Byton is stepping up its digital life by unleashing more of the potential its M-Byte has to offer at CES 2020. The company made a strong point to deliver more on its future user experience with a wave of content partners that spells the beginning of more to come.
Another piece of good news is coming from Byton. It has snatched up a distribution license from California, hinting that the company will soon sell cars in the US.
Byton doesn’t do anything halfway. That much is obvious by now. The company never shied away from gigantic work and its gargantuan Nanjing production facility is a testament to its ambition. I met Mark Duchesne, who is the Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Byton, at the Frankfurt Auto Show earlier this year. What he had to tell me was impressive.
I’m still bullish on Byton, but with caution about the direction the company is taking. Although similar to the original target of delivering autonomous electric vehicles (EV) globally, the last round of investments gives more food for thought.
The electric car builders at Byton brought the production build of their fully electric M-Byte SUV to the Frankfurt Auto Show for its big reveal to the world. They only build EVs and they have no plans to do it otherwise because as they see it, battery-powered electric vehicles are the future. Here at CleanTechnica, we couldn’t agree more.
Byton took to the floor of the Frankfurt Auto Show this week to show off the production-ready version of the fully electric Byton M-Byte SUV. We loved what we saw of the M-Byte at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late 2018 and again in Las Vegas in January, but all of that had to be calibrated against the fact that it was not the production version.
The M-Byte uses batteries from CATL, one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world, and since CATL is an investor in only one car company (Byton), I don’t think it will leave the company starving for batteries like many manufacturers are when they have a hit on their hands. Although I plan to buy a Tesla Model Y, if this car comes through as good as it sounds, I might buy one as a second car.
BYTON has moved its M-Byte electric SUV a few steps closer to production this week with the reveal of the M-Byte body-in-white along with a few teasers of the production interior.