Shanghai (ZXZC)- NIUTRON, a newborn auto brand founded by Li Yinan, who established electric two-wheeler company NIU Technologies, was launched on Dec. 15, indicating a new startup player joining Chinese premium smart NEV market.

NIUTRON logo; photo credit: NIUTRON

“NIUTRON” is the combination of “Neutro” and “Niu”. Its Chinese name “Ziyoujia” was announced at the same time, delivering a brand value of exploration, gumption, pleasure, as well as free and flexible driving.

According to the automaker, the car-building project for NIUTRON was initiated in Nov. 2018. Headquartered in Beijing, NIUTRON has a R&D center in Shanghai and an auto manufacturing base in Jintan District, Changzhou city. Its operating entity, Jiangsu Niutron New Energy Technology Co.,Ltd. was incorporated in Dec. 2020 in Changzhou's Wujin National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone with an initial registered capital of $50 million. Its location moved to Jintan District in Aug. 2021 and registered capital rose to $400 million in Sept. this year.

NIUTRON Jintan factory; photo credit: NIUTRON

NIUTRON's Jintan manufacturing base, where the carmaker DORCEN had produced its cars, covers 770,000 square meters and features a designed annual capacity of 180,000 cars. The factory is still experiencing retooling of production lines and is set to start operation in March 2022.

The first NIUTRON-branded model will be a REEV (range-extended electric vehicle) full-sized SUV model dubbed “NV”, which is expected for preorder in the first half of 2022 and for delivery from Sept. next year.

The NIUTRON NV is built on the Gemini platform, which is designed to support the development of both BEV and REEV models using steel-aluminium hybrid car body.

As for marketing models, NIUTRON will develop its self-owned sales channels by building own-brand direct-sale shops.

While the brand was launched , the NEV startup announced it has nabbed $500 million in Series A financing, which attracts investors like IDG Capital and COATUE.