Electric Vehicle Company BYTON Files for Bankruptcy
On June 18th, it was reported that two related companies of BYTON, an electric vehicle brand, have filed for bankruptcy. The companies, Nanjing Zhixing New Energy Vehicle Technology Development Co., Ltd., and Nanjing Zhixing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., had their bankruptcy cases added on June 14th. The applicants for the case were Nanjing Kunou Auto Service Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Huaxun Network System Co., Ltd.
Despite arguments that BYTON still had hope for revival and was ready for mass production, undergoing asset restructuring, and having a market value significantly higher than its book value, the court ruled in favor of the bankruptcy proceedings. The court stated that although the companies had a large amount of property, the rights and interests of the creditors had not been protected for many years. Additionally, there were legal defects that made it impossible for the court to execute effectively. Therefore, the court decided that there were reasons for bankruptcy and that the application for the debtor’s bankruptcy repayment was in compliance with the law and should be accepted.
Known for its promising beginnings, BYTON is a new energy vehicle brand under Nanjing Zhixing New Energy Technology Development Co., Ltd., officially launched in September 2017. At its inception, the company showed great potential with its core management team consisting of key personnel from giants such as BMW and Tesla. Its global operations headquarters, smart manufacturing base, and R&D center were all set up in Nanjing, China. The North American headquarters, responsible for the development of cutting-edge technology such as smart car user experience and autonomous driving, was based in Silicon Valley. The design center responsible for vehicle design and product concept development was located in Munich, Germany.
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However, this promising start did not last. As of July 1, 2020, BYTON’s mainland China operations were suspended, retaining only a small number of employees. In early 2021, BYTON announced a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Foxconn Technology Group and Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, claiming to strive for the mass production of the first model before the first quarter of 2022. Unfortunately, due to BYTON’s deteriorating financial conditions, even China FAW Group, Nanjing Municipal Government, and Foxconn gave up on “rescue”. With the recent arrival of bankruptcy news, the dream of BYTON’s first M-Byte model has been shattered, and it was unable to achieve mass production.
