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Sarah Dai

Zen Soo

Byton, a Chinese-backed electric car start-up, plans to challenge Tesla in the US with a mid-sized SUV that features Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa and a 49-inch, edge-to-edge dashboard display.
The company is touting it as the first “smart intuitive vehicle” and a digital living room on wheels, and it will cost about 40 per cent less than a Tesla Model X.


Byton, led by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld and Infiniti China head Daniel Kirchert, unveiled its concept SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The model will go into production and sale next year in China, and hit American and European markets a year later.

The car also features facial recognition access, real-time monitoring of health vital signs, hand-gesture control and cloud-based data storage.
The Byton will be able to drive itself in situations such as traffic jams and be able to handle most driving conditions from 2020.
“Leveraging technology is the essence of the brand Byton,” said Kirchert, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, at the launch event in Las Vegas.
“We are building the next generation of smart device, building time to connect and to relax.”
Byton is one of a few dozen electric car start-ups to have sprouted in recent years after the Chinese government started handing out special manufacturing permits to firms other than more traditional players.

To encourage sales, the government offers research and development grants and consumer subsidies, and has exempted new-energy vehicles from ownership quotas in its bigger cities.
China is the biggest market in the world for both traditional combustion-engine vehicles and electric vehicles.
The government is also making a big push to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and related advanced computing technologies as part of a broader strategy to upgrade the nation’s manufacturing capabilities.
China already the clear powerhouse in electric cars


AI and facial recognition are some of the technologies that are being integrated into cars, which are seen as a captive market because motorists and commuters spend hours each day on the road.
Engineering aside, financing may prove just as vital for the car-making start-ups as they seek funds to put their prototypes into mass production.
“Money and talent are the two most important core assets if start-ups are going to make it in the century-long business,” said Yale Zhang, managing director of Shanghai Automotive Foresight. “The better funded, the bigger chance they will be the last ones standing.”

Byton completed its last round of fundraising in August, reportedly raising US$240 million from outside investors including Harmony Auto, Auto Investments, League Automotive Technologies, Legend Capital and an industrial investment fund in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, among others. The company’s first plant is in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu.
Money and talent are the two most important core assets if start-ups are going to make it in the century-long business. The better funded, the bigger chance they will be the last ones standing
Yale Zhang, managing director of Shanghai Automotive Foresight
Chinese carmakers have tried for years to crack the US market, finding little success to this day.
Whereas companies like General Motors and Chinese-owned Volvo Cars are exporting China-made vehicles for sale in the US, Chinese car brands themselves have little presence in North America. And while quality has improved over the years, there are still concerns surrounding the reliability of Chinese cars, similar to how Japanese and Korean car brands had to overcome initial scepticism from consumers when they first entered the US market.
“I wouldn’t stay away from it just because it’s Chinese, if the price point is right or if there is a feature I want that I couldn’t get anywhere else,” said Keith Williams, 53, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and owns a Mini Cooper, Jeep, Dodge Durango, and a number of motorcycles.
“US$45,000 is a bit over my price range, but something like this with autonomous driving is probably a very good deal.”

At the CES presentation for Byton, the company drove its prototype down a runway onto the stage – very slowly – with Breitfield and Kirchert stepping out of the car to applause.
Last year, Faraday Future, backed by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting who’s run into financial difficulties after over-expanding his LeEco conglomerate, tried and failed on its first attempt to park its FF91 model in a live demonstration.
Chinese start-up Iconiq set to enter country’s electric car market from 2019
“I don’t know any Chinese car brands, but I know people who have bought Chinese motorcycles and have been unhappy. They break down, they don’t last, it’s a quality issue,” said Adam Landa, 57, an executive with an electronics company who lives in Florida and drives a Porsche Boxster.
“My big concern is how will I know they will still be in business, how do I know I can get parts, how do I get service, how do I know the car is reliable.”


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Chinese-backed electric car start-up Byton woos CES with model 40pc cheaper than a Tesla

Byton unveiled its concept SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Sunday. Photo: Handout

Byton CEO Carsten Breitfield and President Daniel Kirchert on stage presenting the Byton concept SUV at CES. PHOTO: HANDOUT

BYTON Concept exterior. PHOTO: HANDOUT

BYTON Concept shared experience display. PHOTO: HANDOUT

Byton CEO Carsten Breitfeld presenting the Byton concept at CES in Las Vegas. PHOTO: HANDOUT

China already the clear powerhouse in electric cars

Analysts suggest the first Chinese vehicle to actually make a splash in the US is likely to be a luxury, technology-packed SUV from Lynk & Co, a new brand created by Volvo and Volvo’s Chinese parent, Geely. The Lynk Model 01 went on sale last month in China and is expected to hit US dealerships in 2019. Chinese capital is also behind niche electric carmakers in the US, including Lucid Motors, Faraday Future and SF Motors, all based in California. Photo: Simon Song

W Motors Iconiq 7 MPV electric vehicle on the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** A demonstation car by the Iconqi was seen in the Shanghai Car Show in May 2017

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** Masses of vehicles move slowly on a road in a traffic jam during rush hours one day before the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong province, 30 September 2017. Photo Imaginechina

File Photo: Chinese automaker Geely unveils first model of its new Lynk & Co brand in Berlin, Germany, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

China plans more perks to drive up demand for electric cars

A worker walks among electric cars in a factory in Shandong province. The country wants half a million electric cars on the road by 2015, but it is still far from reaching its target. Photo: AP

Chinese electric cars set to make waves at Shanghai Motor Show

Visitors take photos of the Buick Velite 5, an extended range electric hybrid, during a global launch event ahead of the Shanghai Auto 2017 show. Photo: AP

A Toyota Motor Corp. Mirai fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) stands on display at the automaker's event on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Toyota is bringing its Mirai fuel-cell vehicle to China as it strives to protect its lead in the technology amid challenges from Hyundai Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The GLM Co. Tommykaira ZZ EV electric sports car, right, and the chassis and drive system of the Tommykaira ZZ stand on display during a media briefing in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. GLM, the Kyoto-based automaker, is planning to sell the G4 concept electric vehicle (EV) with a price of 40 million yen ($367,000) in 2019. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Visitors take photos of the Buick Velite 5, an extended range electric hybrid, during a global launch event ahead of the Shanghai Auto 2017 show in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. At the auto show, the global industry's biggest marketing event of the year, almost every global and Chinese auto brand is showing at least one electric concept vehicle, if not a market-ready model. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

FILE PHOTO: A worker assembles an e-Golf electric car at the production line of the Transparent Factory of Volkswagen in Dresden, Germany, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

The Citroen C5 Aircross concept car is presented during an event ahead of the 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai on April 18, 2017. Shanghai gears up for its annual car expo in the world’s biggest auto market. / AFP PHOTO / Johannes EISELE

(170405) -- LANCASTER, April 5, 2017 (Xinhua) -- People work at the assembly workshop at the BYD factory in Lancaster, the United States, March 23, 2017. As the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles, the Chinese company BYD established its factory in Lancaster, California in May 2013. Now with over 560 employees, the BYD factory has become one of the major job supporting companies in Lancaster. (Xinhua/Yang Lei) (hy)

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 10: A hybrid police car is seen at the unveiling of two new Ford Fusion hybrid pursuit-rated Police Responder cars at Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on April 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. The LAPD is committed to purchasing at least 300 hybrid and hybrid-electric plug-in vehicles by 2020. David McNew/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

In this Friday, April 14, 2017 photo, a security personnel riding a motorized platform moves past an electric vehicle charging station in Beijing, China. Automakers face a conflict in China's huge but crowded market: Regulators are pushing them to sell electric cars, but buyers want gasoline-hungry SUVs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

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Byton, led by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld and Infiniti China head Daniel Kirchert, has unveiled its concept SUV at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas


Chinese-backed electric car start-up Byton woos CES with model 40pc cheaper than a Tesla

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Byton, led by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld and Infiniti China head Daniel Kirchert, has unveiled its concept SUV at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas

Byton, led by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld and Infiniti China head Daniel Kirchert, has unveiled its concept SUV at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas