Chinese Electric Start-Up Future Mobility To Unveil the Byton

Future Mobility, a Chinese electric startup co-founded by ex- BMW and Nissan executives, has teased its newest model, the Byton, ahead of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

According to CNET, the Byton is an all-electric, Level 5 autonomous vehicle – a distinction awarded to self-driving cars that is capable of full automation, where the steering wheel is optional, and all driving tasks can be performed on any road and under any conditions.

Regarding its interior and specifications, the Byton will be a medium-sized SUV with a range of 310 miles. The dashboard features a large touchpad built into the steering wheel and a monstrous 1.25-meter dashboard screen taking up the entire width of the cockpit, all of which can be controlled using voice, touch, and gesture. According to CNET, it will have a bandwidth of up to 1000MB/s, which is equivalent to a 5G connection.

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The Byton is representative of Future Mobility’s aggressive push towards electrification, with a recent $200 million investment round buoyed by Chinese firms. The company has already announced plans to launch three cars by 2022, including a sedan and a seven-seater. Last January also saw a 1.7-billion dollar investment in a factory with UI research and development based out of Santa Clara, Calif.

“The car is really developed for China, the U.S., and Europe. From the beginning we planned to launch it globally, setting up our sales subsidiaries in the U.S., China, and Europe,” said Daniel Kirchert, president of Future Mobility in a statement to Reuters.

Look out for the production version of the Byton at the January 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nev.

A version of this story originally appeared on Hybrid Cars

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