The surprise car star at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas came from a brand few had ever heard of before – Byton. This Chinese start-up, headed by former BMW man Carsten Breitfeld, showed its SUV concept, the production version of which will rival electric cars from established makers as well as relative newbies such as Polestar and, of course, Tesla. We don’t have long to wait either, that Byton production car is due on sale in 2019 with a $45,000 (£33,240) price tag but no right-hand drive models are planned at this stage.
The comparisons with Tesla are perhaps most pertinent. Not only because of the fervour around the car at CES, but also when you glance inside to see a cabin that’s dominated by a huge screen. But anything Tesla can do, Byton can do better, it seems, and this Shared Experience display covers the entire width of the dash and measures 125cm by 25cm. This highlights the fact that Breitfeld refers to the car as “The world’s first Smart Intuitive Vehicle, or SIV.”
The screen can display pretty much anything from navigation to video conferencing and is designed to be shared with all passengers. Of course, the car will connect seamlessly with smartphones and it’ll even monitor the driver’s health and offer fitness advice.
It’s keyless, too, using cameras and facial recognition to let you in, while your preferences are stored in the cloud and can be transferred to any Byton – and there will be more. The company is already talking about a saloon and an MPV based on the same platform and with the same choice of battery and motor combinations.
Level three autonomy is expected to be on board when the Byton car launches in China in 2019, before hitting Europe and the US in 2020, and the car will be ready to be upgraded over the air to level four autonomy eventually. There’s the potential for 5G connectivity when that’s available, too, while AI artificial intelligence will learn drivers’ routines and habits and make suggestions over time.That huge screen is controlled by hand gestures, while there’s also voice control on board with Amazon Alexa built in, too.
Image 3 of 15
The driver has a tablet-sized touchscreen just ahead of the steering wheel to control the Shared Experience Display as well as seat functions, while there are screens for rear passengers, too. And to make life more sociable, the front seats turn 12 degrees inwards to create what Byton calls a shared space.
Even in these early concept cars, build quality was good, as it needs to be with its premium tag and a price to match – $45,000 was being quoted as a starting price, with cars being sold directly or through brand centres rather than traditional dealers.
What you pay depends much on which version you go for. Byton is talking about two: one with a 71kwh battery producing 200KW [convert to bhp] and 400NM of torque through the rear wheels and a dual-motor four-wheel drive model using a 95kwh battery producing 350kw and 710NM. There are no performance figures yet, but Byton is quoting a range of 248.5miles for the 71kwh car and 323 miles for the higher-powered version.
The look of the car is unlikely to change much for production – “It’s about 90% accurate,” one insider told us. So the sleek 4,850mm long SUV shape with its floating roof, high-set rear and hi-tech Smart Surfaces, using LEDs around the lights to communicate to other drivers and pedestrians, are all set to make production.
Image 4 of 15
The only blot on the horizon for potential UK buyers is a lack of right-hand drive models – there are no current plans, although we were told it would absolutely not be ruled out.
Byton is based in the Chinese city of Nanjing and was setup by e-car start up Future Mobility, co-founded by former BMW and Nissan executives. Carsten Breitfeld, the former head of BMW’s i division, is the firm’s CEO. Along with its Chinese headquarters, Byton owns studios and research and development facilities in Munich and Santa Clara, California.
What do you make of the Byton Concept? Let us know in the comments section below!