Byton completes $500 million Series B financing led by FAW and participated by CATL

New car company Byton has recently completed a $500 million Series B financing. CATL, a battery unicorn that went public on the ChiNext on June 11, also made a large investment in Byton. Due to the participation of FAW Group and CATL, Byton's Series B financing exceeded expectations. Previously, foreign media disclosed that the lead investor FAW Group invested approximately $260 million in Byton's Series B financing.

After Byton's first product was unveiled at CES in January 2018, it attracted a lot of attention, including from FAW Group. Recently, FAW has been in frequent contact with Byton, and the investment decision-making process was very fast. FAW values ​​Byton's product development capabilities and team, and the two parties will cooperate in product development, production, sales and service.

At the 2018 Beijing Auto Show, Zeng Yuqun (center), chairman of CATL, and two co-founders: BYTON President Daniel Kirchert (left) and CEO Carsten Breitfeld (right)

According to 36Kr, CATL may have become more interested in Byton after the Beijing Auto Show. At the Beijing Auto Show in late April, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, attended the Byton booth and, according to an insider, "he was very impressed with the product and the team."

Founded in December 2011, CATL shipped 11.84GWh of power lithium batteries in 2017, ranking first in the world, with revenue of nearly 20 billion yuan and profit of 3.878 billion yuan. Statistics show that in the domestic market, CATL has a market share of 27%.

CATL is in a state of "supply exceeding demand" in the market, and the investment from CATL is a big boon to Byton. Previously, Byton Auto has completed a total of US$300 million in PreA and A rounds of investment.

The starting price of Byton's first SUV product is 45,000 US dollars, or about 300,000 RMB. It is comparable to the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. The basic version has a range of 400 kilometers, a maximum speed of 180 kilometers per hour, and an acceleration time of less than 6 seconds from 0 to 100 kilometers. It is expected to be launched in 2019 and can achieve L3 level autonomous driving. It can be upgraded to L4 autonomous driving level after 2020.

In addition, a concept version of its sedan model will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show Asia (CES Asia) on June 13.

The participation of FAW and CATL in investing in new car companies may serve as a signal that there may be more penetration between new car companies and traditional industrial chains in the future, thereby further completing the transformation, upgrading and transformation of the automobile industry.

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.