Yinan Li, the Ex-CTO of Baidu and Former Founder of NIU Technologies, enters into the electric automotive industry. As a technology industry heavyweight, Li’s NIUTRON is expected to be one of the most valuable electric automotive startups after NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto.
After a long influential career in high-tech industry and venture capital, Li founded NIU Technologies in 2014, created one of the most innovative and stylish electric two wheelers. NIU was later listed on Nasdaq in late 2018. After he departed from NIU technologies, Li started the automotive venture in 2018, namely NIUTRON. The Company has since grown to a team of 1,000 R&D personnel, and has received investments from world-leading investors such as IDG and COATUE, in its US$500 million series A fundraising.
NIUTRON has achieved several milestones since its founding, including its unique Gemini Platform and a strong product pipeline with many future models. NIUTRON NV, the Company’s first model, is a mid-large sized premium SUV, with “Urban Exploring” as its design concept, encompassing both BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) and EREV (Extended-Range Electric Vehicle) options to meet the needs of different driving scenarios.
NIUTRON NV will be launched and open for pre-order in China in the first half of 2022, and the delivery will start in September of the same year.
NIUTRON has already been building a modern manufacturing base of 770,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity of 180,000 units. The manufacturing base will be ready for operation in March 2022.