Cheng Li: The Shanghai Auto Show is very lively. First of all, please comment on how this year’s Shanghai Auto Show is different from previous ones?
Feng Qingfeng: The biggest difference is the world’s largest auto show after the epidemic. And you can see that there are a lot of foreign friends, which means that after the opening, everyone still hopes to see this kind of lively scene.
Cheng Li: Our Eletre should start delivery in the second quarter?
Feng Qingfeng: The first quarter started on March 29, and now the second quarter is starting to climb.
Cheng Li: For Lotus, as a track champion from the UK who has been riding in the UK for many years. Now that it has come to China again to take root, it should be said that Lotus has a “hybrid” gene, especially in the wave of smart electric vehicles, this combination is still very powerful. So the question I want to ask you is, what is the difference between Lotus Eletre and other supercar brands such as Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari at the moment? Where is the opportunity?
Feng Qingfeng: Lotus was born in the UK and leaped around the world. This is the characteristic of Lotus. It not only inherits and inherits history, but also develops for the future. It is a Chinese-British dual-engine strategy. The UK is the R&D and manufacturing center of sports cars, and China is the R&D and manufacturing center of lifestyle vehicles. These are two product centers.
In terms of technology layout, there are also Chinese and British dual engines. For example, in London, it is the research of modeling and materials, in China, it is intelligent and automatic, and in Germany, an innovation center is also deployed, mainly focusing on the intelligentization of the chassis.
Now it is said that the car is developing in the direction of intelligence. First of all, it is not only the interaction between people and cars, but more importantly, the intelligence of the car itself must be done first. The intelligentization of the chassis is not only solved by HMI, but the intelligentization, online, digital, and intelligentization of the chassis should be placed in Germany.
You said he is of mixed race, I think this is the layout of globalization. I also often tell the team that only global talents can create global products and impress global consumers, not just China.
Cheng Li: The recent Lotus 75th Anniversary celebration held in Shanghai was very shocking and contagious at the scene. This event may just be one of the ordinary events for Lotus in so many years, but I think it is a very good time point for Lotus’s development. So what does this celebration mean for Lotus?
Feng Qingfeng: One is the 75th anniversary, and age itself is worth celebrating. Secondly, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary in 2018, Lotus aims to become a 70 year old startup company. Entrepreneurship is endless and eternal, but we should start presenting the results, which is to overturn and change the past.
Lotus’s spirit, avant-garde, innovative, and innovative. I believe that the first step is to sacrifice one’s own life. We were also the first to announce the Vision80 plan. The most important point of comprehensive transformation is to use brand new products to meet the requirements of the new era and new users.
Cheng Li: Eletre should be said to be a brand new beginning for Lotus. Because I think this car, I actually watched its changes.
Feng Qingfeng: You also participated.
Cheng Li: So I also have a deep affection for this car. I think you, including the spirit of Lotus, are actually willing and willing to challenge. Dare to challenge and demonstrate it vividly on the Lotus Eletre. What do you think are our inheritances and innovations of this car?
Feng Qingfeng: The three major inheritances of Lotus: lightweight, aerodynamics, and ultimate driving control. The calibration of Lotus Engineering is recognized worldwide, and many companies also claim to be Lotus calibration. These three have undoubtedly been perfectly inherited.
For example, aerodynamics, let’s take Eletre as an example. A lotus petal can move, reduce wind resistance when closed, and increase air flow and cooling when opened. We have 7 sets of air duct designs, but many people may ask, “What’s the use of your air duct? Just for the sake of beauty?” We not only pursue beauty, but also pursue performance aesthetics. We are capable, and I will take this as an example. Wind enters here and then exits here, why?
Cheng Li: What is the concept of its product?
Feng Qingfeng: We need to ask why did you use this to pass through it? Because when the air reaches here, turbulence will form. What are the consequences of turbulence? The instability of the vehicle is like walking on a bridge, and when there is crosswind, our car starts to sway. Therefore, when turbulence occurs, the car starts to float up. It is not because the car is light, but because the car is drifting. If the air is rising, the air can be diverted out of here and the turbulence can be eliminated, which is a perfect inheritance.
Cheng Li: So when I saw a design like this wind resistance, I felt that it was actually different from the Land Rover, and I thought it came out. Because I think it should be from an engineering perspective, and I think it is still very difficult to implement.
Feng Qingfeng: It’s difficult, but it can still be achieved.
Cheng Li: What other points do you think about this car? During the process of creating this product, you may have some difficulties at that time, and of course, you may also have some ideas about the ultimate pursuit of users, and which direction to go in?
Feng Qingfeng: For example, we should first do a good job with the chassis, which is also our strength. This is beyond doubt. We call it the electric performance architecture, and the first thing we need to do is to build it well.
I think our car has several things to consider, namely the relationship between the car and people, the relationship between the car and the environment, the relationship between the car and itself. For example, let me first take the relationship between the car itself, our 6D intelligent chassis, and this is the relationship between cars. When a person wants to achieve an action, it can actively help you achieve it, and it is not very abrupt or sudden, which is between cars. And then the interaction between cars and people, such as our human-machine interaction, why use this UNREAL 3D illusion engine? This is the engine of the game console, and in fact, we want to achieve what we see, which is the interaction between cars and people. And the relationship between the car and the environment. The relationship between the car and the environment is mainly reflected in the aspect of intelligent driving. We have 34 sensors, 4 LiDARs, and 4D millimeter wave radars to create a relationship between the car and the environment that can be sensed. Firstly, I believe that you can perceive and see that you can say that I make decisions. I am the brake, I am the accelerator, I am the steering, and you can make decisions. How do you make decisions without even seeing or perceiving? So this is also the relationship between the car we create and the environment.
Cheng Li: When we look at the competitive landscape in the market, there is actually no such car among supercar brands. I think this car is actually a pioneer. And it inherits our past handling, including this ultimate performance. As we mentioned earlier, our product philosophy of car to car, car to person, and car to environment has made me feel that this car has been put into a relatively full state. You have included many optional standard features on luxury cars, which I think is also a rare feature of this car.
Feng Qingfeng: Active rear wheel steering with an active stabilizer bar is standard.
Cheng Li: This was not available in previous supercar brands, it was all optional.
Feng Qingfeng: They are all optional options, and even it can be both or just one. We can simply choose it as standard because we want the feeling of a sports car. This is a large car, which is over 5 meters long, but the handling brought by a large car is not good. We need to make it a small car like control, and we need these new technologies to achieve it.
Cheng Li: Did you have any doubts when making such a decision at that time? Because after all, it still has costs.
Feng Qingfeng: No worries. Our product definition doesn’t need to be complicated, why? It needs to comply with Lotus. When defining a product, we first define whether you are compliant with Lotus. When there is a conflict, we return to it. For example, if there is a conflict between cost and control, I naturally need to control it.
Cheng Li: So you have a choice.
Feng Qingfeng: I believe that in terms of product development, I also have a triangular paradox. Time, cost, and quality are triangular paradoxes. If you want to be fast, you will definitely sacrifice. One of the other two is that when you need it, I would rather sacrifice cost. I want the other two.
Cheng Li: I have exhausted all my strength to make this car. How would you rate this car? If the maximum score is 100 points.
Feng Qingfeng: I hope it’s 100 points, but I think there are still many small regrets.
Cheng Li: Today at the Shanghai Auto Show, an important product and technology was released, which is our Lotus charging robot. This idea is actually quite creative.
Feng Qingfeng: The world’s first mass-produced charging robot, we still refer to the user of Lotus, and we hope to create a good experience for him. For example, what can we experience at many charging stations now? The gun is heavy, which is a very bad experience. Our guns are very light, why? It’s because it’s liquid cooled. Secondly, many charging areas are very dirty now, and the experience is very poor and not advanced. We hope to say that as exclusive users of Lotus, we can create this advanced experience. When you finish making an appointment here, the floor lock will drop into the car and you won’t need to do anything else. Charge it up. The second generation automatic charging is 480 kilowatts. Your car doesn’t have to park straight, even if you park slightly crooked, it doesn’t matter. It recognizes itself and will aim at this insertion gun. After automatic recognition, it will be inserted without human intervention.
Cheng Li: Actually, it reflects our philosophy, our service philosophy, which is what Lotus is all about.
Feng Qingfeng: It is also an ultimate pursuit. Charging, people may think that I can just pull out or insert a gun, but I don’t think it can reflect the ultimate pursuit of Toulouse. We just want users to stop pulling and inserting guns, and it can be done automatically.
Cheng Li: So we will feel it when we collect the car in the future. Are there any surprises for Eletre’s order this time?
Feng Qingfeng: The global orders are quite surprising. We have come to many overseas distributors this time, from the Middle East, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia
Cheng Li: We saw the Vision80 plan, which was released 5 years ago, but it is actually very forward-looking because it will be a new five-year launch soon. What else will we have for Lotus, our plans, and our goals to achieve?
Feng Qingfeng: Actually, the delivery of 3.29 is just the beginning, it’s completely the beginning. The future journey is still far from reaching the shore we want to reach. It’s just that after 5 years of effort, Lotus has just begun to sprout. To grow into a towering tree, we still need to continue working hard. After 5 years of achieving Vision80, we still have Beyond 90, and we need to surpass ourselves again, This is the innovative spirit of Lotus.
Cheng Li: I remember when you released Vision80, you actually mentioned our later product plan, which is the first one.
Feng Qingfeng: This year, there will also be SOP, the second coupe, and even more Lotus style. In the future, there will be life use vehicles, and there is also a new species that we call New Species that has not been announced yet. We are currently putting our efforts into refining it, with our teams in the UK, Germany, and China. There is also a pure electric sports car.
Cheng Li: I’m imagining, for example, some traditional supercar brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche. Of course, Porsche has already started. They would think that as a luxury brand, its gasoline cars may create an experience that is difficult to replicate when it comes to electric cars. But the Lotus Eletre has already been delivered and our car has received user recognition. Now, do you think this challenge exists?
Feng Qingfeng: I believe that past successes cannot be replicated. You must innovate yourself, innovate again, and provide users with new experiences, just like we want to create automatic overcharging. This is a product of innovation, not something that the fuel age can provide. This is something that the new era can provide. This is all innovation.
Cheng Li: A new era has arrived, and this is the opportunity for Lotus.
Feng Qingfeng: A great opportunity.
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