China’s Byton Thinks A Steering Wheel-Mounted Tablet Is A Great Idea

CES is less than a week away and Byton will use the event to showcase what they’re calling the “world’s most intuitive automotive interface.”

The company is keeping details under wraps, but they released a teaser image which appears to show the production interior of the M-Byte. The image has been purposely darkened, but we can see the cabin will follow in the footsteps of the concept that debuted at last year’s CES.

Despite the similarities, this model has a revised steering wheel which features an integrated screen that the company calls a “Driver Tablet.” As you can see in the teaser image, it provides easy access to commonly used features such as the radio and climate control system and also has icons for apps and settings.

Additional details are hard to make out, but the dashboard is curvier than the one used in the M-Byte concept and features a different widescreen display. There’s no word on how large the display is, but the concept had a 49 x 9.8 inch (124 x 24 cm) shared experience display which would automatically adjust its brightness according to lighting conditions.

Details about the information system will be released on January 6th, but Byton has already said the M-Byte will go into production in China later this year. Following in domestic market launch, the M-Byte will arrive in the United States in 2020 with a base price of $45,000.

The entry-level model will have a 71 kWh battery pack powering an electric motor that produces 268 hp (200 kW / 272 PS) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque. This will enable the rear-wheel drive crossover to travel up to 248 miles (400 km) on a single charge.

The company will also offer an all-wheel drive variant which has two electric motors that produce a combined output of 469 hp (350 kW / 475 PS) and 523 lb-ft (710 Nm) of torque. They will be powered by a larger 95 kWh battery pack, which will enable the M-Byte to travel up to 323 miles (520 km).