Just as we were trying to think about the future of this all-electric luxury brand, "Grace Men's Uno" got an interview with Mao Jingbo, President of Lotus China. We are both honored to have this opportunity and feel deeply grateful to meet our old friends again.
Mr. Mao, can you introduce to us the lineup of the Lotus brand at this year's Shanghai Auto Show?
First of all, I would like to introduce you to Evija. Limited to 130 units worldwide, deliveries of the Evija have already begun, making it "the world's fastest mass-produced all-electric supercar". Evija represents the height of our brand and our determination in the era of electrification, which was announced in 2019 and will be delivered slowly this year, just as it rolled off the production line in the UK on March 29th.
Once Lotus built sports cars for the racetrack, Eletre was Lotus' first smart life car. Our product matrix for the future is "3+3". The first "3" is the sports car, Lotus's strongest gene, there is Evija, and the last gasoline sports car EMIRA. I think netizens are particularly talented, and emira directly takes the nickname "one meter two", because its body height is one meter two. In 2025, we will launch an electric sports car.
The other "3" is a life car. The Eletre is Lotus' first all-electric supercar SUV, which began receiving orders on October 25 last year and began deliveries on March 29 this year. There is also a four-door coupe that we will launch next year, and the third will be a "crossover" between an SUV and a sports car, which will be a disruptive product in the field of electric vehicles.
Lotus has formed an all-star lineup. It takes courage to transform into an all-electric brand, especially for a brand like Lotus with a unique driving history, which should be a very difficult challenge. In the face of the challenge, Lotus went straight to the Eletre model, which was even more shocking. What does Mr. Mao think of the electrified Lotus and Eletre models?
Now we also have to recognize who Lotus is and how it is positioned after switching to the electric track. You may often hear "it's still that Lotus". On the new track, our championship "three-piece set" will play even better in the era of electrification. In terms of driving control, such as weight reduction, chassis tuning experience, aerodynamics, etc., I think we have a huge opportunity in the field of electric vehicles.
Eletre represents our brand proposition in a way, and it's "for the drivers". Our British designer said that in a gasoline car, the wind passes through the upper, bottom and side of the car, but with an electric car, the wind seems to pass through the body, and he uses the word "through", so there is a lot of space. Electric vehicles add a lot of room for improvement to the Lotus brand's already excellent vehicle design and handling. This is the world's first pure electric supercar SUV, and no one else has this positioning. The ELETRE has three concepts: an electric car, an SUV, and a supercar.
For us, the SUV market will be a little bigger. I don't think we should be exactly like before, Lotus is still Lotus, but Lotus has to have something new. I think in the era of electric vehicles, we have the opportunity to become a mainstream brand from a niche brand, Lotus, not to please everyone, but only to be a real "driver"!
Regarding Lotus Eletre, I hope to open up and the situation and be able to have a marketable sales. This year's electric vehicle market is too "rolled", including the auto show, everyone has "rolled". Every time I see this, I say that we are not "rolling" because we are in the "stratosphere". There is no need to "roll" to be a luxury brand, because luxury requires quality and time to build, and we are committed to being the first brand of "million pure electric luxury". Strictly speaking, Lotus Eletre currently has no competitors on its track. We have a window period, and in the future, other brands' "million-level pure electric luxury products" will also be launched one after another.
During the window period, we have the opportunity to do something different, through Lotus Eletre, to let everyone know about the million-level pure electric luxury market. I think it's good to be able to focus on one thing at this stage.
There is also a general "volume" configuration and "volume" efficiency in the electric vehicle industry, which is difficult to win. I think scarcity is very important in the electric vehicle market, and it is important for luxury brands to build brands and make products that customers like and are different. Lotus "sharpened a sword in five years", and it took five years to build this car.
We want to do a good job in the field of electric vehicles, make a car with characteristics, and return to the strength of Lotus before, which is the ultimate handling, the ultimate driving, and "for the drivers". "For the drivers" is not a brand slogan. After I came to Lotus, I also did a lot of thinking, you have to recognize who you are, who your customers are, and how you want to go. I think it's not just the "volume" technology, the "volume" product, the "volume" configuration, and finally the "volume" is the value. Because a good product, especially a good customer experience, needs to be built and invested, and it takes time to polish.
Today, we released a new technology, the "Flash Charging Robot", which is already in mass production. All you need to do is sit elegantly in the car, and the Lotus Flash Charging Robot can complete the charging and replenishment in a convenient, efficient and safe way. You don't need to do it yourself, which is currently industry-leading. In addition, the Lotus Eletre will be one of the first models in China to be equipped with a Flow** exterior mirror. We are constantly pushing the boundaries in terms of technology, and these are important labels for luxury brands.
I think if you do what you're good at and do it to the extreme, you'll always have a place.
I think it's a user touchpoint, an expression of Lotus' positioning. Why was the car owner invited to drive in person at that time? At the current stage of brand recognition, there are some car owners who were particularly loyal to Lotus before, and they will think that in the era of electrification, you have gradually forgotten about me and made me unimportant? Actually, not at all, I think they are our greatest brand wealth!
The 20 owners of the classic cars we invited really have a special love for Lotus. We want them to know that they have been an important part of the 75 years of the Lotus brand, and they have made the brand.
Going back to luxury brands, building a luxury brand is about creating an emotional connection while the product is strong, and that's what I get inspired by users. As soon as Lotus Day began, everyone was high, and I was very moved, and I was in tears when I watched it. Even if they had to do several rounds of rehearsals, they were still very happy and excited.
Lotus was a unique sports car brand, and people liked it because it was pure, niche, and the people who liked it were just that. But "Lotus Day" made me feel that the Lotus brand is rapidly upgrading and has the feel of a luxury brand.
I think "luxury" is the value you give to the user. Where is our brand value? This value should be recognized and given by your users.
Our products are also up-to-date. In the past, the concept of the fuel car era was that as long as it was a good car, but now we have entered the electric era, and our cars can not only give users the ultimate driving control, but also meet the user's pursuit of quality. For example, all the hardware of Lotus Eletre, including liquid metal materials, audio, etc., are all manifestations of quality.
Lotus Eletre is in fact a global resource, and so is the Lotus brand. China is the most powerful in making car machines and intelligent cockpits, and the United Kingdom has more research on chassis tuning, aerodynamics and design, and now Germany's innovation center is also specialized in chassis. Therefore, we have set the advantages of various countries to create an ultimate product, this ultimate quality is different from others, and our products are very "hardcore".
Among these orders we received, how many old car owners converted?
We have a lot of "double owners" who have known Lotus before.
I always say, you must try our car. Because Lotus is still the same Lotus, it is the pursuit of "ultimate driving control". Users who were familiar with Lotus before bought it without trying it, they knew the brand DNA of Lotus, understood the "champion trio", and would promote it for us.
In the era of electric vehicles, we hope to attract more users and hope that everyone can recognize this brand. Now we have three products, Evija, Emira, and Eletre, and even "three car owners".
But there are people who don't know about Lotus yet, and I want to be able to influence them. I don't really have any tricks, but I have one thing in mind - to do the "ultimate driving control" experience, that is, test drive, including from the first contact with our car, to the test drive in the store, and the good product. We came up with "driver to driver" because our own "driving experience officer" is also someone who likes to drive and control, so that they can influence users.
The first owners of Lotus Eletre greeted the delivery with Colin Chapman's signature "hat throw".
We also have a 24-hour test drive, and users can test drive it at any time. I feel that sales are just a result, and more importantly, to experience our products perfectly. We hope to create million-level pure electric luxury, focusing on the needs of users and their emotional experience.
We want to do car culture, from simple functional experiences, to more extreme experiences, such as "329" and the ultimate driving experience center we have established. We train a lot of "driving experience officers", and we have a team dedicated to doing a good test drive. I want to do one thing to the extreme.
The image of our brand is very distinct. To put it simply, to create the ultimate driving control, we hope to equate "the best electric car driving control" with Lotus. We are all in electrification and intelligence. We want to get back to the "champion" position on this new track of electric vehicles, and my team and I want to work hard to achieve that.
At present, all levels of assisted driving are advancing rapidly, and the eletre is also equipped with more advanced driver assistance systems. As a brand that focuses on driving, do you think Lotus will take a completely different path from other brands in the future?
Assisted driving doesn't mean you can't drive. Eletre is comfortable when cornering, and that's because a lot of our stuff is handed over to the technology, to the machine, and that's already part of the easier driving for the assisted driver.
We hope that intelligence can enable our car owners, drivers, and drivers to better control the car while enjoying the fun of driving. It's not that with intelligence and autonomous driving, I don't have to worry about anything, that's not what we're after. In the era of electric vehicles, we also want to give everyone the pleasure of driving. The joy of extreme driving control, once defined by the roar of the engine, is now the roar of the heartbeat, and the pursuit of ultimate driving control is our original intention.
for the drivers" is our brand proposition, we all need to rebuild our confidence and value in the brand around the world, we are "all for the drivers".
In the future, we will make an emotional connection with users. Like the user operation that everyone is talking about, I think we still have to go back to the driving control itself, and make the test ride and test drive and "driving" to the extreme. We're not going to do what everybody is doing, and we're going to go back to "who is Lotus", and at the same time, the existing and target users of **.
Will the ultimate driving control system you mentioned involve more people in the future?
Of course! We have a track in our global smart factory in Wuhan, where we usually do some new car testing. Plan for the future and create an experience center. In the future, test drives, Lotus in-house training, and all the experience of the product can be carried out here.
At the same time, the F1 track is also a major position for us. In the future, we will tell you in advance every year what are the ultimate driving test drive experiences. These experiences are not just for car owners, but we will gradually open them up to the public.
I saw that Lotus did a lot of city cruises some time ago, and it seems to work well. It is also a mobile publicity, which can also allow more target users to experience it.
We put together a group of test cars to get Lotus cars in various cities to show off our style.
We hope that all users who visit the store will go for a test drive experience, unlike the traditional "sales funnel", where you must wait for you to show interest before arranging a test drive for you, and take the test drive as a "kick in the door". We'll make the test drive experience upfront.
Lotus has always emphasized the ultimate driving control and track genes, so is it possible to make a set of electric vehicle driving control system in line with Lotus's tonality like some brands that also have a certain strength, and then continue to strengthen the brand's personality. Mr. Mao: This is in our plan, and the future system must highlight our characteristics. Everyone thinks that electric cars accelerate on the straights, but in fact, we can show our heroic nature in the corners. We not only want to build a test drive system for electric vehicles, but also highlight the characteristics of Lotus products.
Can the owner of the order now also see the real-time progress of the order on the relevant APP or mini program? I feel that the process is very ritualistic. Or is it possible to invite the owner to the factory to witness the roll off the assembly line of his car?
The technology is now fully mature, but we haven't opened it yet. In the future, it will be able to track where orders are placed.
We still want to give the factory a little time, because we will start delivering the Eletre R+ in May. I still have a lot of confidence in the Lotus global smart factory. The cars we produce in smart factories around the world will be exported to Europe in the future, and we have achieved a truly global development, production and sales.
The foundation of the global smart factory is very good, and it can be upgraded to luxury. Luxury is the details, so that customers feel very comfortable, the overall tonality and facilities, reflecting the quality. It's up to us to build it slowly, so that customers feel that the Lotus brand understands them, and ultimately becomes their spiritual belonging.