Review: Byton M-Byte Concept SUV
Byton recently revealed the near production-ready version of its first model, a high-tech, premium electric SUV, the M-Byte Concept. The M-Byte was described as being “85% there” by company boss Carsten Breitfeld. Minor modifications are likely needed to meet legal requirements, although Breitfeld described the touchscreen-dominated interior as being “series production ready”. It features a giant 49-inch screen that takes up the whole dashboard, an 8-inch touchscreen in the steering wheel. The most prominent element is that massive infotainment screen that stretches to an absurd length of 1,250 mm, or about 49 inches, and rises up to a height of 250 mm, or almost 10 inches. Side-view cameras replace side mirrors, iconic face recognition cameras provide user identification and BYTON Smart Surfaces show a situation-based interacting light design.
The Byton electric SUV will be powered by electric motors with a range of 217 miles (350 km) in standard form. There are also plans to develop a more premium variant that comes with a range of 311 miles (500 km). The SUV will also feature accelerated charging capability, including the ability to charge 76 miles (120 km) of battery range in just 10 minutes of charging. That range will be enabled by a 95 kWh battery pack a 4-wheel-drive dual motor 350 kW power-train for a premium, but the base version starting at $45,000 will be powered by a single RWD 200 kW motor and a 71 kWh battery pack for a driving range of 400 km (248.5 miles).
Key Specifications
- Make: Chevrolet
- Model: M-Byte Concept SUV
- First available: January 2020
- Electric/Hybrid: Electric
- Seats: 5
- Range: 248.5 miles 400 km
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Price: $45,000Price: €37'500Price: £34'000
Range & Battery
Battery options
- Battery model: Lithium
- Battery capacity: 4-wheel-drive dual motor 350 kW power-train
- Battery Power: 90 kWh
- Battery Range: Between 350 km – 500km
- Electric drive unit: Single RWD 200 kW motor
Charge time
- Type of charger: DC Fast Charging
- Fast charge time: 80% = 30 minutes, 76 miles (120 km) of battery range in just 10 minutes of charging
- Full charge time: TBC
Innovation & Self-driving
- BYTON Intuitive Access: a different method of unlocking the car. Face recognition cameras recognize the driver or passenger to unlock the door. BYTON also recognizes driver and passenger information to auto-adjust seat angles, entertainment options and other information according to user preferences and usage.
- User profiles auto-enabled for every BYTON. No matter which BYTON the driver sits in, his or her profile can be downloaded from the cloud to the car, making the customer feel as if every BYTON is his/her own car.
- BYTON Air Touch for advanced gesture control. This feature allows for display control via easy hand gestures at any position within the car. For example, users can caption a location with a grabbing motion in the air, and then put it into the maps function in the middle of the display to start the navigation.
- The Driver Tablet allows the driver to control the Shared Experience Display, navigation, seat adjustment and other functions. The sides of the tablet integrate few physical buttons in the car such as the volume control. In collaboration with Amazon, BYTON has also integrated Alexa Voice into its in-car voice control system.
- Four BYTON Life features on display at CES include my HEALTH, my COMMUNICATION, my ENTERTAINMENT and my ACTIVITIES. Built-in hardware synchronizes with the user’s other devices, enabling BYTON to track the user’s health status, including weight, heart rate, blood pressure; and synchronizes user’s data to give fitness advice.
- BYTON Concept supports video and telephone conference capability, enabling users to work productively while commuting, or connect with family and friends.
- Seamless switch from the outside to the inside the car. BYTON Life enables music, video and other content played on one’s smartphone to continue to play in the car displays, from the time when the user has just entered the vehicle.
- Advanced AI and machine learning capabilities analyze a user’s calendar, locations, hobbies and application data to provide customized advice on what to do next, making BYTON smarter with every interaction.
- BYTON’s interconnected hardware prepares for 5G communications. The hidden antenna on the roof allows data transfer rates up to 10 Gbit/second which is hundreds of times the normal average bandwidth.
- Data security built into all features and services. BYTON has established a dedicated independent Security Lab to ensure data security whether connected to the cloud or within the vehicle. BYTON Smart Gateway with machine learning ability is an additional core technology, enabling BYTON to track the security status of the vehicle in real time, detect potential failures and threats and take auto-countermeasures.
Please also read our published Electric Car reviews of other makes and models.
