Yet another Chinese electric car startup has announced its intentions, only this one doesn't have a flashy concept to show us just yet.
The new company goes by the name Gyon, and its launch took place on August 8 in Los Angeles, California. Present at the event was Tom LaSorda, a former Chrysler CEO and a board member of Fisker before it went under in 2013. It isn't clear what connection he has with with the new Gyon.
While Gyon didn't have a concept to show us at its launch, the company is planning to unveil one in 2019. A teaser shot unveiled in July showed a sedan with coupe-like proportions. Gyon is working with America's Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters on the concept. Gaffoglio is an expert in low-volume projects and has built a number of concepts and prototypes for major automakers.
Teaser for Gyon concept car
Gyon is to be the luxury arm of Sitech, a mainstream electric car brand of Chinese auto giant FAW Group. It plans to launch nine models within the next eight years and reach sales of 400,000 units annually. Gyon has only mentioned sales in China for now, with production likely to take place in the city of Chengdu in central China.
Like Tesla and other EV manufacturing hopefuls, Gyon will focus on high-tech, high-performance applications. For example, Gyon states that its first model will hit 62 mph in less than 4.0 seconds and travel between 310 and 434 miles on a single charge. The company also boasts a battery that can be charged to 80 percent capacity in 10 minutes and 100 percent in 15 minutes.
Gyon also states that its first model will have an advanced interface, as well as a self-driving system sourced from Bosch. Bosch is developing a Level 5 self-driving system and plans to launch a self-driving taxi service with Daimler in Silicon Valley as early as next year. Gyon states that its self-driving system will be the “highest-level autonomous driving system in the world.”
