History
In 2016, Tencent, together with Foxconn and luxury-car dealer Harmony New Energy Auto started a new joint venture called Future Mobility, a car startup that aimed to sell all-electric fully autonomous premium cars in 2020.[6]
The company was co-founded by Carsten Breitfeld, CEO, and Daniel Kirchert, president.[7] It was a subsidiary of China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Limited.[8]
In January 2017, the company announced its first manufacturing facility would be located in Nanjing, China at a cost of US$1.7 billion and an initial production capacity of 150,000 cars.[9] Around 2017, Future Mobility was renamed to Byton. In 2018, Chinese state owned First Auto Works invested a "significant amount of money" into Byton.[10]
CEO and co-founder Carsten Breitfeld left Byton in April 2019. Fellow co-founder Daniel Kirchert subsequently assumed the position of CEO.[11] Breitfeld later revealed that he had left Byton over the active interference with the company by the Chinese government through FAW.[12]
In April 2020, the company furloughed about half of the 450 employees who worked at its North American headquarters.[13] In June 2020, the company decided to suspend operations for corporate reorganization for a planned six-month period.[14][15]
On September 9, 2020, Nanjing Shengteng Automobile Technology Co, Ltd. was established as the new owner of the brand. FAW Equity Investment (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. holds 23.333% of the shares in Byton, and Duan Lianxiang holds another 6.6667%.[16] In October 2020, it was announced that CEO and co-founder Daniel Kirchert had left the company due to its continued financial troubles.[17]
In January 2021, it was announced that Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn would enter into a strategic partnership with Byton. Foxconn planned on investing US$200 million into Byton. Foxconn was expected to assist Byton with manufacturing and supply chain management.[18]
In April 2021, Byton's German subsidiary entered bankruptcy. In July 2021, Byton suspended operations in China.[19] In September 2021, Nikkei reported that Byton's manufacturing partner Foxconn was putting the project on hold due to continuing financial issues at Byton, effectively putting operations on hold indefinitely.[20][21]
