Byton's German CEO resigns after raising 8.4 billion yuan but failing to produce a mass-produced car

Due to the dual impact of the sluggish auto market and the epidemic, 2020 was a particularly difficult year for many automakers, with declining sales and huge losses becoming the norm, especially for new car manufacturers. In June, Byton, a three-year-old new car manufacturer, was named by CCTV because it had raised 8.4 billion yuan but still could not achieve mass production.

Afterwards, Daniel Kirchert, co-founder and CEO of Byton, held an impromptu telephone conference for all employees in China and announced that Byton's business in mainland China would be suspended, with only a small number of employees retained on duty.

Recently, it was reported that Byton CEO Daniel Dai has resigned and co-founder Ding Qingfen has become the actual controller of Byton.

The report also said that several potential investors are conducting due diligence on Byton, including non-Chinese companies, but the report did not indicate the source of the information.

In June this year, Byton officially announced that the Chinese region will suspend work and production from July, and the suspension is expected to last for half a year. During this period, all employees in China will be on standby, and the company's specific arrangements will be notified later.

However, Byton's suspension of production and work does not mean it will withdraw from the market. On the contrary, Byton has established a new company, OnePlus, to continue preparing for financing.

As expected, the main task of Byton's new company is still to accelerate the financing progress and promote the mass production of its first model M-Byte.

However, the industry is not optimistic about Byton's development prospects. The current car manufacturing industry has entered a downturn, and new energy vehicles have encountered a market cold snap. Byton, which is burdened with a huge financial burden, will face more difficulties in the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.