China start-up readies capacity for 150,000 electric cars per year

FRANKFURT: Future Mobility Corporation (FMC), the Chinese parent company behind electric car start-up Byton, has placed an order for a paint shop capable of handling 150,000 cars per year, German supplier Duerr said on Wednesday.

China’s Byton, a newcomer headed by the former head of BMW‘s i8 programme, has already released plans for a premium electric SUV vehicle, the latest in a series of China-backed electric autonomous prototypes.

“Duerr is building a paint shop for FMC’s Byton brand in Nanjing for 150,000 cars per year,” Duerr said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that this was one of the largest orders it had ever received from an electric car manufacturer.

Byton has financial backing from Chinese state-owned carmaker FAW Group and the country’s dominant battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL)

Byton opened a North American headquarters in Silicon Valley in December and has announced it is working with Aurora, an autonomous driving company founded by Chris Urumson, the former head of Google’s self-driving cars programme.

Byton is also working with auto suppliers Bosch and Faurecia SA on powertrains, braking systems and interiors.