Ex-VW Group Officials Help Launch New Chinese BEV Maker

Newly founded Chinese electric-vehicle company BeyonCa unveils a concept of its first model, a luxury sedan called the Optus 1.

Planned for production in 2024, the 4-door is intended to rival upmarket battery-electric offerings such as the Porsche Taycan at a price BeyonCa CEO Su Weiming suggests will start at around RMB1 million ($137,000) in China.

BeyonCa was founded in 2021 as Binli Intelligent Technology by Su (pictured, below left), a former Volkswagen China executive vice president and current CEO of Renault China. The brand name is an acronym, standing for “Beyond the Car.”

Su Weiming BeyonCa

The involvement of Klingler (pictured, below left), who was closely associated with former VW Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech, has led to rumors within German automotive industry circles that the Piech family may be involved in financing BeyonCa.

Headquartered in Beijing, China, with a design center in Munich, Germany, and an artificial intelligence development hub in Singapore, BeyonCa has received RMB10 billion ($1.36 billion) in investment from Changiang Capital, a Wuhan-based subsidiary of Changjiang Securities, in a deal brokered by the Wuhan City Government.

Christian Klingler BeyonCa

Details of the financing have not yet been revealed, though suggestions are both Renault Group and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor are stakeholders in the new company.

The concept car unveiled by BeyonCa is claimed to closely resemble the upcoming production version of the Optus 1, which will debut at the 2023 Shanghai auto show.

Key exterior styling elements include an arrow-shaped grille with an integrated BeyonCa logo as well as thin-line LED headlamps and a prominent splitter up front.

The Optus 1 also has a short hood, large wheelhouses, heavily structured sills along with a stepped window line, heavily curved roofline and boattail-like rear end.

Apart from its muscular-looking haunches, the surfacing is mostly smooth throughout to optimize aerodynamic efficiency. 

At 204.7 ins. (5,199 mm) long, the concept is 9.3 ins. (236 mm) longer than the Porsche Taycan but 0.6 in. (15 mm) shorter than the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The wheelbase is 118.1 ins. (3,000 mm).

Su says the production version of the electric-powered sedan will be powered by a battery of up to 130-kWh in capacity. It is based on an 800V architecture with charging at up to 350 kW and boasts both CTP (Cell-to-Pack) and CTC (Cell-to-Chassis) construction.   

Further details pertaining to the drivetrain and range of BeyonCa’s first model have not yet been revealed, though BeyonCa says variants of its first production model, including a performance-based RS flagship, are planned.

BeyonCa Optus1 interior

Among the features BeyonCa is showcasing on the Optus 1 concept are sensors that can monitor the driver’s blood pressure and transmit medical-emergency alerts.

Su says the sedan has software that will automatically slow down or stop the car in an emergency lane when a medical emergency is detected. Such an emergency triggers the BeyonCa healthcare service, with a doctor able to observe the driver and give advice on what to do next via the car’s infotainment system.

 “My philosophy and understanding has always been this: If you do not go beyond the car in a specific way, it will not be a complete story,” he says.

The new model also supports a high level of autonomous driving.

BeyonCa Optus1 front1.4

During the Oct. 10 debut of the new Chinese automaker, Su says BeyonCa is targeting the high-end premium segment and models such as the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Porsche Taycan.

“Our idea is to create something under a more nimble corporate structure. What we achieved in more than one year here would take seven or eight years at a conventional automaker,” he says.

BeyonCa plans to begin production of the Optus 1 in China but also is eyeing other countries as part of a five-year start-up strategy. Su says the new company plans to release three to five new models over the next three to five years.

Dongfeng Motor will produce the Optus 1. The Wuhan-based automaker is said to have been active in the various elements of the development of the sedan through its upmarket EV brand, Voyah.