Byton M-Byte

unkel

I mentioned Byton earlier this year. It's a Chinese startup company making battery electrical vehicles

And before you dismiss it, it looks like a very serious setup with big Chinese money behind it. The CEO is Dr. Carsten Breitfeld who was with BMW for 20 years and who ran the i8 program

The CTO is Irishman David Twohig, we had a thread about him here

Fast forward a few months and Byton have launched the M-Byte at the Frankfurt motor show today

And here is a pretty detailed interview today with above David Twohig by no one other than Bjørn Nyland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izIbTZ6mZjc

slave1

Bjorn has another super vid out with great footage of around and inside the car, it looks super, in work so can't link but it's a great 15minute look.
Their 48" info monitor looks space age and I love the static steering wheel screen

krissovo

Reminds me of a past generation of Citroens with the shape and the steering wheel. The inside screen is cringeworthy and a little awkward, would be great to keep kids occupied though. Hand gesture technology has never worked as intended in any form, it's never intuitive as quoted and takes the patience of learning a new instrument to master.

I think the Renault K ZE is much more significant chinese contribution, 27kwh battery, ~200kms range all for under $10,000 in China. Makes you wonder why manufacturers claim that a 30kwh battery costs 5> 9000 euro.

https://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-killer-renault-k-ze-electric-could-be-cheapest-ev-yet-price-starts-8700-2824611

unkel

That's the kinda car the world needs, a cheap as chips entry level EV. But somehow I don't think it would get road type approval in the EU or USA

JPA

That Byton is insane. And not in the good way.

slave1

listermint

Worrying door noise from the boot and the passenger door when closing . Absolutely plasticy sound.

charlieIRL

how could that ever be allowed to go to production, too much of a distraction to the driver.

TCP/IP

That’s an awful looking piece of Chinese junk.

Black_Knight

That floor space! Can't wait for my passengers to slip there foot over and jam on the accelerator! Or my wifes bag to get in the way of the pedals, or most obviously, something to fall out of a passengers bag or off the passengers seat and under the brake.

Feels like the car wasn't built with driving at the forefront of their mind.

- Handles are more form over function, you can see at the 14:30 minute mark on Bjorns interior video that the rear door handle is stuck half out.
- Less windscreen, more 4k screen! Who needs to see where they're going
- More screens = good, yes? (steering wheel, center console, rear seats)
- Gestures... because a knob to turn the volume up is too complex and distracting.
- You must be this tall to close the boot!

slave1

I luv it

charlieIRL

The Audi 4x4 concept thing is much better looking!!!

KCross

Looks like they are struggling and could be the end for them unless they get some new money...

https://insideevs.com/news/431388/byton-furloughs-employees-future-uncertain/

unkel

Very disappointing. Had high hopes for this company. Top quality executives with relevant experience and, what seemed to me, backed by big Chinese money.

Would have been good for all of us to have a serious competitor to Tesla at the mid to high end.

I wouldn't want to write them off and ask for this thread to be closed just yet though

KCross

"Apple-supplier Foxconn plans to drive Byton electric car project with €164m"

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/technology/arid-40200708.html

Interesting that its Foxconn, who are a massive partner with Apple. Maybe this is part of Apple's plan to develop their EV program, which has been in the news alot again lately.

liamog

That could also read
"Nintendo-supplier Foxconn", confirmed we're getting full size EV Mario Karts

unkel

Foxconn is the worlds largest electronics manufacturer, Apple is just one of its many customers

Good to see that Byton is being picked up again. It's on their own website too:

"We are excited to be back. The partnership with Foxconn will bring us the expertise of precision manufacturing and profound resources, enabling us to deliver the promise of next-generation smart mobility experience." said Ms. Ding Qingfen, Co-CEO of BYTON.

The construction of BYTON’s industrial 4.0 manufacturing base in Nanjing has been completed with all advanced facilities for stamping, welding, painting, general assembly and battery packing being installed and commissioned. The first batch of pre-production vehicles rolled off the production line and completed safety tests in the first half of 2020. BYTON was granted with a new energy vehicle production license in June 2020.