Industry dynamics

BYD Seal top trim uses Nio Capital-backed Ambilight's technology to make its glass roof color changeable

Publishtime:1970-01-01 08:00:00 Views:13

Last November, Nio Capital and BYD completed a strategic investment in Ambilight.

BYD Seal opens for pre-order in China, prices start at about $31,860-CnEVPost

The roof of the BYD Seal features a partitionless one-piece panoramic canopy measuring 1,236*1,656 mm, with the 4WD Performance version allowing consumers to get the EC canopy as an option for RMB 8,600.

The supplier of BYD Seal's panoramic canopy is Fuyao Glass, while the EC canopy is built by the glass giant by sourcing Ambilight's dimming film, according to a research report today by Guosen Securities analyst Tang Xuxia's team.

Ambilight was founded in 2017 and has offices in Shenzhen, Silicon Valley, and Indiana, according to the company's website.

In March, the company closed a Series B funding round of tens of millions of dollars from Matrix Partners, led by CPE.

Last November, Ambilight not only received investment from Nio Capital, but also from BYD.

Nio Capital said on November 18 last year that it and BYD completed a strategic investment in Ambilight, without disclosing the exact amount.

The strategic investment follows Ambilight's closing of a multi-billion-dollar Series C round led by Warburg Pincus with participation from Dinghe Gaoda, Cygnus Equity, Nio Capital said at the time.

The new financing will be used for Electrochromics' new product research and development, capacity expansion and global commercialization rollout.

In the electric vehicle industry, color-changing glass roofs are seen as a new and compelling technology. Geely's premium brand Zeekr already offers such a roof option on its first model, the Zeekr 001.

Earlier this year, there were rumors that Nio could potentially use it on future models.

"Nio is working on an EC roof, though it's not clear which model will be equipped first," longtime Nio follower Weibo car blogger @碳粉说电池不胖 said on February 11.