Byton plans to conduct an IPO, having previously obtained the qualification to build a car for 1 yuan

On October 29, Beijing time, Carsten Breitfeld, CEO and co-founder of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Byton, said in an interview with German media that Byton may achieve further development through IPO financing.

Carsten Breitfeld said the automotive industry is a capital-intensive business and Byton wants to expand, so going public is necessary.

He also said that before the IPO, Byton will seek a new round of financing in the private market so that it can start producing cars.

In May this year, Byton received a $260 million investment from FAW Group. Battery supplier CATL also invested in Byton.

Previously, Byton has completed Pre-A and A rounds of financing, totaling approximately US$300 million. Investors include Suning Group, Harmony Auto, Legend Capital, etc.

On September 28, FAW Xiali announced that it would transfer 100% of the equity of its wholly-owned subsidiary Tianjin FAW Huali to Nanjing Zhixing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. for 1 yuan. Nanjing Zhixing is the parent company of the new car-making force Byton.

After taking over FAW Haval, Byton obtained the qualification to produce passenger cars, but at the same time it needed to assume Haval's debt of 850 million yuan.

BYTON was officially launched in September 2017. BYTON has set up its global operations headquarters, intelligent manufacturing base and R&D center in Nanjing, China. Its North American headquarters, which is responsible for the development of cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent car user experience and autonomous driving, is located in Silicon Valley, and its design center, which is responsible for vehicle design and product concept development, is located in Munich, Germany.

The mass-produced version of Byton's first model, the M-Byte, will start pre-production in the first half of 2019 and will be officially launched in the fourth quarter of 2019.

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.