Jiao Wenjuan, a trainee journalist for 21st Century Business Herald, reports from Guangzhou
On November 14th, at the 2024 New Car Annual Ceremony hosted by Nancai Group 21st Century Business Herald, Lotus EMEYA Fanhua won the "2024 New Car · Performance Car of the Year" award. Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said, "We cannot give up the development of new features, nor can we give up the development of high performance. Performance has no limits, and Lotus' goal is to constantly pursue the ultimate
The Lotus EMEYA Fanhua, which was launched in January this year, is Lotus' first pure electric supercar sedan and has been delivered in China since March. Lotus is one of the earlier all in electric luxury brands, but its plans go far beyond pure electric. Lotus will launch a new power form at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show - the Luyao Super Hybrid. It is reported that future models equipped with Luyao super hybrid technology can achieve a comprehensive range of over 1100 kilometers, and are also equipped with 900V plug-in flash charging, which can quickly and autonomously flash charge while driving, with a charging speed comparable to battery swapping.
Feng Qingfeng believes that in the future, cars will develop in two directions. One is enjoyment, like Lotus EMEYA, which does not pursue intelligence or automation, but only personal driving experience; One is life oriented, where daily vehicles need to enter real-life scenarios and comply with intelligence.
In terms of intelligent business, Lotus also gained revenue from the overseas expansion of intelligent driving solutions this year. According to Lotus' 2024 interim report, Lotus Technology's service revenue for the first half of 2024 was $15 million, a year-on-year increase of 194%; The gross profit margin is 58%.
After the 2024 New Car Annual Ceremony, Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng accepted an interview with 21st Century Business Herald, sharing more views and opinions on Lotus' upcoming release of the Lotus remote super hybrid technology, Lotus' overseas strategy, and the upcoming Guangzhou Auto Show. The following content has been excerpted:
21st Century Business Herald: Luyao's super hybrid technology was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show. When did your team start developing hybrid technology? How did you think about it at that time?
Feng Qingfeng: We have been announcing a comprehensive transformation to electrification since 2018, and we have been very resolute in doing so. In this exploration process, we believe that the forms of power should be diverse, not just limited to pure electricity, fuel, or any one aspect.
I believe that the development of automobiles ultimately aims to meet human needs. More than a year ago, our two pure electric vehicles were already launched, but we believed that we should still pursue certain parts that did not meet the demand, so we began to develop this new form of power.
21st Century Business Herald: There are more and more car companies engaged in extended range and hybrid electric vehicles. How do you view this trend?
Feng Qingfeng: Everyone is exploring this form. Extended range is also a good solution, as evidenced by market performance and user recognition.
But there are many aspects of range extension (technology), especially for our performance cars, that cannot be met, which we as performance cars cannot accept. So we need to balance performance and functionality across all operating conditions, and we have been exploring it.
What we are currently building is a 900V plug-in flash charger, which can charge at a speed comparable to battery swapping, and can be fully charged in just a few minutes. We summarized it as& quot; One, two, five& quot;： The so-called 'one' refers to a comprehensive range of over 1100 kilometers; We call it dynamic and static dual flash charging. One is that the speed of plugging in is the same as the speed of swapping, and it can also quickly and autonomously flash charge while driving; 'Five' means that the charging speed during dynamic driving is close to 5 times the vehicle's discharge, which means that road remote technology does not have the traditional meaning of 'feeding a worm'.
This is the requirement for our performance car, and we cannot make any compromises.
21st Century Business Herald: How can Luyao's super hybrid technology achieve market level disruption?
Feng Qingfeng: What we pursue is high performance under all working conditions, not just under some working conditions.
21st Century Business Herald: After Blooming Flowers, what global layout will Lotus have in the luxury pure electric market in the future?
Feng Qingfeng: In terms of brand and sales, we are divided into four global regions: China, Middle East Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States. We have entered 24 countries and regions.
21st Century Business Herald: Where is the focus?
Feng Qingfeng: We attach great importance to both the US market and the Middle East Asia Pacific market, which are actually quite important markets for us.
21st Century Business Herald: What are your expectations for the upcoming Guangzhou Auto Show?
Feng Qingfeng: There are many new cars released at this Guangzhou Auto Show, and everyone is willing to showcase these new products and technologies here, which shows that the level of this auto show is very high. Because this means not only selling cars through auto shows, but also promoting my products, brand, and technology through auto shows.
So this time we are mainly promoting our technology. According to our investigation, more than 100 new cars are expected to be released at the Guangzhou Auto Show this time. There are new cars, new technologies, and new highlights, that's the highlight, that's the biggest charm of an auto show.