In a statement, Chinese electric vehicle startup Byton said, it has received a distributor license from California which paves the way for the launch of its first electric SUV vehicle, Byton M-Byte, in the United States.

Byton aims to launch its first electric SUV in China in 2020; it plans on launching its electric vehicles in the United States and in the European Union in 2021.

Byton also disclosed, it has established Byton Cars California LLC as its retail entity, and once this retail company secures a California dealer license, it will be able to sell and lease directly to customers in California and sell online in other states.

Byton, which has a presence in the United States and Germany, is among several Chinese-funded electric vehicle startups that are betting on a U.S. launch to compete with Tesla Inc and others in the EV market.

Byton was launched in September 2017 by Future Mobility Corp, a company co-founded by former BMW and Nissan Motor executives.