Electric car startup Byton on track to complete China factory by May

China-based electric vehicle startup Byton is on track to complete construction of its factory by May, company executives said Sunday at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.

The plant is being constructed in Nanjing, China and will have a capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles per year. The main body of the factory, which includes the stamping, painting, welding, assembly and battery, is currently under construction.  Manufacturing equipment in the factory will be supplied by AIDA Engineering of Japan, and KUKA and DÜRR of Germany. The company is also working with key strategic investors FAW and CATL, and suppliers Bosch, BOE, and Faurecia.

Completing the construction of the plant is just the first step, albeit a big one.

“We have made solid progress in the construction of our Nanjing plant and prototype vehicle testing,” Byton co-founder and president Daniel Kirchert said Sunday. “This is a vital year for Byton and our global team is sparing no efforts to achieve our goal of volume production.”

The company, which was founded by former BMW and Infiniti executives, is planning to debut a production version of its upcoming M-Byte SUV in mid-2019 with mass production to begin at the end of the year. The company is testing its vehicle in China, Europe, and the United States in a lead up to production.

In June, Byton secured a $500 million Series B funding round from investors FAW Group, Tus-Holdings and CATL. The company has raised $850 million as well as loans and subsidies from China.