Byton seemed to come out of nowhere when it showed up at the 2018 Consumer Electornics Show in January with a cool-looking SUV concept and confirmed the start of production for next year.
But the SUV is just one of at least three electric cars Byton is planning. Another is a sedan, a concept of which Byton will unveil in June at the 2018 CES Asia in Shanghai, Autocar reported on Tuesday. The third model is said to be a seven-seat minivan.
The fact that the three vehicles share a platform has allowed Byton to accelerate their development and keep costs down. The platform incorporates a powertrain featuring an electric motor at each axle and a lithium-ion battery in the floor.
Byton in January said its SUV will offer battery capacities of 71 and 95 kilowatt-hours, enough for respective ranges of 200 and 310 miles. The vehicle will go on sale in China in late 2019 with a price tag of about $45,000.
The sedan is expected to arrive in 2021 and the minivan shortly after. Byton will focus on the Chinese market initially but hopes to start sales in Europe and the United States by as early as 2020. Production meanwhile will be handled at a plant currently under construction in Nanjing, China.
Byton doesn't plan to have traditional dealerships. Instead it will have “brand stores” similar to those operated by Tesla in major cities.
Stay tuned for an update on Byton's plans as the company will present an updated version of its SUV concept at this week's Milan Fashion Week. The updated concept is said to more closely resemble the production version due next year.
