Byton recently announced
that it has completed its initial round of cold weather testing for its
upcoming M-Byte all-electric SUV. Byton first offered the world a
look at its first production model at CES back in early 2018 with its Crossover
Concept that previewed the M-Byte. Since the concept’s premiere, prototypes of
the M-Byte have been testing around the world.
In a statement, chief executive Daniel Kirchert
revealed that cold weather testing in Mongolia focused on “durability and
powertrain calibration” as well as the battery and air conditioning systems of
the vehicle. With this initial testing phase complete, Byton will start testing
its prototypes in North America as it gets ready to commence production of the
SUV before the end of the year.
Byton intends on selling the M-Byte in both rear-
and all-wheel drive configurations featuring single- and dual-motor designs
respectively. Sitting at the bottom of the range will be a rear-wheel drive
model with 268 hp and 400 Nm on tap by its single electric motor.
The aforementioned all-wheel drive model will use two electric motors and
deliver a combined 469 hp and 710 Nm of torque. This variant will
also use a 95 kWh battery pack and travel up to 520 km on a single
charge.
The car manufacturer isn’t just working on an
all-electric SUV, though. At last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, it unveiled the
K-Byte concept sedan as a first glimpse into its second production model. The
M-Byte and K-Byte will share many parts and be underpinned by the same
platform. A third, yet-to-be-revealed EV will also use the same underpinnings.
