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Niutron

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Niutron
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedDecember 15, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-12-15)
FounderYan Li
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Area served
China
Websitewww.niutron.com
Niutron NV

Niutron (Mandarin: 自游家) is a Chinese electric car brand founded by Niu Technologies co-founder Yan Li on December 15, 2021. The mother company is called Huoxingshi Technology and is based in Beijing with its design center located in Shanghai, with vehicle R&D and manufacturing located in Changzhou.[1]

History

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Niutron was founded by Yan Li, co-founder of electric scooter manufacturer Niu Technologies and former CTO of Chinese technology company Baidu. The company was founded in 2018 with $50 million USD in funding, later growing to $400 million USD.

In early December 2021, Niu released images of a concept car called the NIU 4 Fun, a 4 seater in the micro EV segment. On December 15, 2021 Niutron officially launched as a new startup independent of Niu Technologies.[2][3] That day, digital images and details of the company's first production vehicle, the Niutron NV mid-size electric SUV, were revealed.[4]

In March 2022, Niutron revealed the production version of the NV, along with specifications and pricing, with pre-orders opening at the end of the month. Low volume production was to begin at Changzhou in March, with deliveries starting in September 2022.[5]

Niutron partnered with Dacheng Auto (大乘, anglicized as Dorcen) in a contract manufacturing agreement where the NV would be produced in Dacheng's Changzhou automobile factory. Before Dacheng experienced financial trouble and filed for bankruptcy in 2020, its Changzhou facility produced the Zotye Domy which had then been rebadged under the Dorcen brand. By late 2021, there were reports that Niutron was in talks to outright buy Dacheng's Changzhou facility, but Dacheng retained the Changzhou factory with money raised from selling their other factory to BYD.[6]

Niutron moved their engineering offices to Changzhou once it had entered the contract manufacturing agreement with Dacheng Auto, with an internally planned production start date in spring of 2022. However, after an additional wave of COVID lockdowns, the officially announced delivery date was set to be in September. This delayed production start date led to the Changzhou facility's production license to expire, as it had not produced any vehicles in the 2 years since bankruptcy. This left Niutron without a production facility, and in December 2022, Niutron announced that the NV could not be delivered on time as promised, and a full refund to more than 24,000 consumers would be made within 48 hours.[7] In 2022, the company declared that it would stop with the restructuring and remain committed to its plans to put its model into production in December 2022, aiming to deliver the first cars in early 2023.[8] This did not happen in the end, and the company ceased operations in March 2023.[9]

In June 2023, the Niutron NV resurfaced, with the vehicle now being sold by Docan as the Docan V07. Niutron's Weibo page was found with all posts deleted at that time. Docan is the new anglicized name of the Dorcen brand, with the Chinese name remaining to be Dacheng (大乘).[10]

References

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  1. ^ Chen, James (3 December 2021). "A promising startup- Niutron!". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  2. ^ Yu, Lisa (15 December 2021). "U.S. listed Niu Technology launched a new Niutron EV brand". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  3. ^ Borrás, Jo (14 January 2022). "Ex NIU, Baidu exec leaps into the car game with NIUTRON electric SUV". Electrek. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  4. ^ Chakraborty, Shray (12 January 2022). "All new Niutron SUV ready to set sail in March 2022". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. ^ Bobylev, Denis (3 March 2022). "Production Version Niutron NV Electric SUV Unveiled In China". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  6. ^ Breevoort, Leo (2023-02-19). "Big Read – How Niutron failed to build its car". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  7. ^ Bobylev, Denis (3 March 2022). "Chinese EV Startup Niutron to Issue Refunds After Delivery Failure". pandaily.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Chinese EV startup Niutron still hopes to start delivering vehicles next year". Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  9. ^ "Another Chinese EV maker filed for bankruptcy". Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  10. ^ Bobylev, Denis (16 June 2023). "Niutron NV finally got production green light in China. But under another brand and name". carnewschina.com. Retrieved 18 June 2023.


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