OK, a flying car it is NOT, but new EV (electric vehicle) start-up China based car maker Byton’s M-Byte due to ship “sometime” in 2021, is now on hold. With its whopping 48-inch diagonal display (it stretches across the entire span of the dashboard), it makes the Tesla 17-inch panel look like a 1999 vintage PC monitor next to today’s 55-inch TV. But post-virus the US Byton group based in Santa Clara, CA just hit a speed bump.
A huge (“about half” of the current 450 staff) of US employee’s at the R&D facility are now on furlough, and there has been an up to 80% drop in salary for senior staff. In the wake of Chinese lay-off’s last year, this may put these plans in doubt.
The cost cutting measures will have a direct impact on US launch plans of the M-Byte with its 4-ft. (1.21m) wide (yep) display screen. Overall, the car is closer to a consumer electronic gadget than Tin Lizzy, with a “tablet-like” device on the steering wheel, built-in recognition (face, hand etc.) for security and gesture control, plus the car is a cloud-based data storage node and wi-fi hot-spot on wheels.
Byton CES 2018 Press Conference, Source: Sechrist
A report in SCMP (South China Morning Post) said the economic impact of the CV (virus) first hit Byton in its China operations. The company’s Nanjing, China-based factory and admin offices stayed shut after the New Year holiday celebrations that ended on Sunday February 2nd, six days into the first lunar month. Byton said they were following protocol based on Chinese government orders. The group did say its plant is now back online and “almost” fully operational.
Meanwhile, beyond Tesla, the Chinese start-up is looking down the barrel of no less than forty-four announced or currently shipping EV’s.
Byton’s whopping 4-ft. diagonal display screen, Source: Sechrist 2018
Here’s the short list from a recent (April 2020) digitaltrends.com article: “Every upcoming electric car” with a “comprehensive list” of the EV’s “officially announced” and expected to launch in the mid-term.
- Audi E-Tron GT, Base range: TBD, Base price: TBD, Available in: 2021
- Audi E-Tron Sportback: Base range: TBD, Base price: TBD, Available in: 2020
- Ronan Glon: Base range: TBD, Base price: TBD, Available in: 2021
- Aston Martin Lagonda: Available in: 2025
- BMW i4: Available in: 2021
- BMW i7
- BMW iNext: Base range: TBD, Base price: TBD, Available in: 2021
- Bollinger B1: Base range: 200 miles, Base price: $125,000, Available in: 2020
- Byton M-Byte: Available in: 2021
- Cadillac EV: Available in: 2023
- Faraday Future FF91: Base range: 400 miles, Base price: $120,000, Available in: 2020
- Fisker Ocean: Base range: 250, Base price: $37,499, Available in: 2021
- Ford F-150 Electric: Available in: 2021
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: Base range: 230 miles, Base price: $43,895, Available in: 2020
- GMC Hummer: Available in: 2021
- Honda EVs: Available in: 2024
- Kia Soul EV: Available in: 2021
- Lordstown Endurance: Base range: 260 miles, Base price: $52,500, Available in: 2020
- ?Lotus Evija: Base range: 250 miles, Base price: $2.5 million (estimate), Available in: 2020
- Lincoln EV: Available in: 2022
- Lucid Air: Base range: 240 miles, Base price: $60,000, Available in: Late 2020
- Maserati GranTurismo
- Mercedes-Benz EQA: Available in: 2021
- Mercedes-Benz EQC: Base price: $68,895, Available in: 2021
- Mercedes-Benz EQS
- Nissan Ariya: Available in: 2021
- Pininfarina Battista: Base range: 280 miles, Base price: $2.2 million, Available in: 2020
- Pininfarina Pura Vision: Available in: 2022
- Polestar 2: Base range: 275 miles, Base price: $63,000, Available in: 2020
- Polestar 3
- Porsche Macan
- Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, Available in: 2020
- Rimac C_Two: Base range: 400 miles, Base price: $2 million, Available in: 2022
- Rivian R1T: Base range: 230 miles, Base price: $69,000, Available in: 2021
- Rivian R1S, Base range: 240 miles, Base price: $72,500, Available in: 2021
- Subaru EV
- ?Tesla City Car
- Tesla Cybertruck: Base range: 250 miles, Base price: $39,000, Available in: Late 2021
- Tesla Roadster: Base range: 620 miles, Base price: $200,000, Available in: 2020
- Volkswagen ID.4: Available in: Late 2020
- Volkswagen ID.Buggy
- Ingo Barenschee/Volkswagen
- Volkswagen ID.Buzz, Available in: 2022
- Volvo XC40 Recharge: Base range: TBD, Base price: TBD, Available in: TBD
(SS)
