——When “Chinese-funded car companies” no longer take the Chinese market as the focus of strategic development, how will Karma Auto create an industry myth?
On December 15, 2017, Zhou Liang was officially appointed as the global CEO of Karma Auto; then, he officially joined on January 15, 2018; after the transition period, he officially took over on March 1, 2018. Now, it has been more than a year since Zhou Liang officially took over Karma Automobile, what kind of report card has he handed over?
In the past ten years, the luxury car customer base has undergone great changes. In the past, most of the people who bought luxury cars were social elites over the age of 50. They preferred classic, ancient and traditional luxury; but now young people in their 30s can buy luxury cars. Their definition and understanding of luxury cars are different from those of It is completely different in the past, there must be both traditional luxury and new luxury, and Zhou Liang defines this new luxury as technical luxury.
“If luxury cars are the crown, then we are the jewel in the crown.” Zhou Liang found a balance between traditional luxury and new luxury, and identified competitors, such as Aston Martin, McLaren Wait. Compared with traditional car companies, new energy car companies, and new car manufacturers, Karma’s positioning is different. Zhou Liang emphasized that Karma Automobile is not just a car manufacturing company. “Our strategy is different from others. We not only build cars for the sake of making cars, but also pay more attention to the acquisition, precipitation and integration of new technologies.”
Therefore, Karma cars will not be mass-produced in the short term, but mass production will definitely be done in the future, but in a different way. “Each company has its own strengths. After each contributes their strengths, they can obtain what they need under the same community of interests. This is our development strategy. What traditional car companies lack is the integration, testing and verification of new technologies, while What we lack is the large-scale production and manufacturing capabilities, supply chain control capabilities, and network management capabilities of traditional car companies, so mass production is not done by ourselves, but we will find suitable partners to do it together.” Zhou Liang It seems that the ability to act quickly in the face of industry changes and be driven by a sense of urgency is a huge advantage of Karma cars.
more than cars
“There is a possibility of success for new forces, but it is very small, because once mass production is achieved, it will no longer be their strong point. They lack the accumulation of traditional car manufacturing, such as supply chain management, quality control, etc.” Then, What kind of car companies can succeed in the future?
Zhou Liang believes that only those enterprises that have both traditional OEM experience and heritage and the spirit of constant pursuit of high-tech innovation can be successful. “What can really survive is the combination of the two. Karma is the top of this combination. We not only want to produce luxury cars, but the most important thing is to integrate the most cutting-edge technology through the production of luxury cars.”
It can be seen that Karma Automobile is currently trying to adopt the concept of “open platform” as part of its value-forward business strategy to attract partners, absorb high-tech and exquisite craftsmanship, and use this to create benefits and increase long-term brand value. The cooperation with Pininfarina has just promoted the specific implementation of Karma’s “open platform” business strategy.
Pininfarina is currently one of the most famous car design companies in the world, and is also the queen designer of Ferrari. Its concept is very compatible with Karma cars, and they all follow the route of luxury, high-end and customization. On the one hand, Pininfarina’s design advantages can help Karma accelerate product development, differentiation and customization; on the other hand, Karma’s luxury electric vehicle platform can also help Pininfarina advance its development strategy in North America.
In fact, Karma Automotive’s in-house engineering resources for luxury electric vehicles provide an excellent testing ground for innovators from all walks of life. On this platform, not only can the emerging technologies of innovators in various industries be cultivated, developed and verified, but also Karma Automotive has the opportunity to use its technical expertise to create new revenue streams for the company.
As Zhou Liang said, “Building cars is not our end, our end is to be more advanced on this basis, and Pininfarina has exactly this characteristic. After the cooperation between the two parties, it is more important to find an open platform. Partners can Using our product platform as an incubator to test and prove their innovative products, our engineering resources can also help other partners meet their own needs.”
It is undeniable that this strategic risk is relatively small: First, it does not need to rely on subsidies to survive, nor does it need to appear as a substitute for traditional luxury cars; Newer, faster cutting edge technology. Because new powers only rely on building and selling cars, there is almost no possibility of survival, and they must rely on other factors, such as high-tech content, customization, VVIP services, etc., and more importantly, they should have the ability to integrate platforms and digest high-tech , and use these high-end technologies to create several different levels of platforms for large-scale production, only in this way can enterprises survive.
In Zhou Liang’s eyes, the strength of new forces lies in the pursuit, digestion, application and re-application of new technologies. “Only by being your own strongest point can you minimize risks. Karma’s strongest point is not to win by quantity, but to win by high-tech, luxury, and customization. We only do high-tech, the most professional People do the most professional things.” In addition, Zhou Liang added that even a big OEM cannot develop independently, and the future business model must be platform-based, because the closest to customers is definitely not a big OEM, but a company like Didi. At “points” in the value chain such as Google and Google, they can customize customer needs.
Take an unusual step
Karma Automobile was established in 2014 with funding from China Wanxiang Group. Its global headquarters is located in Irvine, California, USA, its innovation and customization center is located in Moreno Valley, California, USA, its Detroit technology center is located in Troy, Michigan, and its China Design and Engineering Center is located in Hangzhou, China.
Among them, the Karma Automotive Innovation and Customization Center was put into use for the first time in 2015, with a total investment of more than 100 million US dollars. The skilled employees and exquisite craftsmanship here can provide unique luxury electric vehicles as well as world-class design, technology and personalized customization . It can also be seen from the name that the future development focus of Karma Automobile and the strategic policy with innovation, customization and high-tech integration as the core.
It is worth mentioning that Karma is the only automaker that integrates design, engineering, marketing and hand-made in Southern California. “While many businesses continue to leave California for less regulated places, Karma Motors chose to stay in California and do business here for the long term. Because the ethos of Karma Motors fits with California, it is a place of innovators, entrepreneurs and people with big ambitions. In this land, everything is possible, and Karma cars are bound to become a shining star in California.” Zhou Liang said.
Right now, Karma Motors is trying to establish itself in the luxury EV space. According to Zhou Liang, Karma cars will enter Europe and the Middle East in the second half of the year, then Asia, and will enter China in 2021. According to “Auto Observer”, this time is very likely to come earlier, and Karma cars will definitely be fully prepared for discerning Chinese luxury car buyers.
For the Chinese market, Zhou Liang has two plans: first, to use California as the origin of production and sell it to the world. At present, it will not be produced in China, but only imported. Second, find partners in China to jointly develop a new generation platform for production, which is expected to be in 2021 or earlier. In fact, Wanxiang Group is both a shareholder and a potential partner. Karma Automobile has an extended-range car project in the Wanxiang Energy-concentrating City, which has started construction, with a scale of about 50,000 to 100,000 vehicles.
As we all know, California is the commanding height of global laws and regulations. If it can be produced and launched there, it is believed that it will also meet the laws and regulations of other parts of the world. Different from many domestic car companies starting from the low-end and then entering the European and American markets, Karma Motors has taken a unique path and is taking the opposite path. For Asian countries, this is a very special path, and it is naturally very challenging.
But as Zhou Liang said, everyone does what they are best at. Karma Automobile is best at integrating technology and verifying technology, but it is not good at mass production, so this part will be handed over to those who are good at it. In addition to Wanxiang Group, Karma Automobile will also open its platform to cooperate with other manufacturers, not only for complete vehicles, but also for parts and system technology.
“Karma Automotive is focused on a robust, step-by-step strategy to build an automotive company built on the foundations of an expanding dealer network, a reliable supply chain, exquisite craftsmanship centers and a talented workforce.” Zhou Liang believes that as long as Karma can succeed in the United States, the most challenging luxury car market in the world, it can also succeed in other parts of the world.
more than one car
If you want to select the most concerned car brands at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, Karma will definitely be among them. Not only because of its debut at a large domestic auto show, but also because of the three new luxury electric vehicles it brought – the new 2020 KARMAR EveroGT, KARMAGTDesignedbyPininfarina, KARMASC1VisionConcept.
Among them, the all-new 2020 KARMAR Evero GT integrates speed, intelligence and design, and it will be launched in the second half of this year. Drive System.
KARMAGTDesignedbyPininfarina is the first result of the cooperation between Karma Motors and Pininfarina, a world-renowned Italian design and engineering company. The Pininfarina team adopts the new 2020 ReveroGT structure. Although the basic engineering parameters are retained, another brand-new design style is interpreted in the body style, panel and interior. This is the first time that Pininfarina has applied GT to a cooperative product. .
In addition, KarmaSC1VisionConcept represents Karma’s future vision, reinterprets Karma’s future design language and customized solutions, and points out the brand’s future development direction – a new BEV product based on the company’s core values. It is reported that the core of KarmaSC1Vision Concept’s complete set of technologies lies in a brand-new infotainment architecture. Through 5G Internet and artificial intelligence communication system, it integrates touch, voice, vision and graphic intelligent interface to realize the seamless interaction between the driver, intelligent system and the sports car itself.
The launch of the three new cars not only indicates that Karma has entered a period of rapid product expansion, but also highlights its “true” level in design, customization and high-tech engineering, and thus reveals the company’s short-term, medium-term and long-term vision, which reflects the It is a strategic foresight. “Karma Motors is ready to take a bold step. We choose the Shanghai Auto Show as the starting point for the company’s new chapter. In the next step, we will cooperate with more manufacturers based on the existing platform to jointly create distinctive high-end customized cars; in the future, we will We will continue to absorb the most cutting-edge high-tech technologies and lead the development of the electric vehicle industry.” Zhou Liang said.
Not “Fisk”
At first, there were two star car companies in the United States: one was Tesla and the other was Fisker. The two car companies have chosen two different technical routes. Tesla is using pure electric technology, and Fisker is using extended-range technology. At that time, the U.S. Department of Energy was very supportive of these two car companies, because no one was sure which technology line was the future development direction.
“Karma cars come from Fisker, but not Fisker.” Zhou Liang believes that the range-extended program has its advantages and disadvantages, and the same is true for pure electric vehicles. “We believe that pure electric vehicles will definitely be the future development direction. In the next 10 years~ In 20 years, 70% of cars will be pure electric, so the next generation of Karma cars will be pure electric. But we also believe that in the next 10 to 20 years, the charging facilities will not be perfect, and the problem of mileage will still exist , so there will be varying degrees of demand for range-extended vehicles.”
Currently, Karma Motors is developing two platforms, both the range-extending platform and the pure electric platform. “The two platforms will be biased. Although 70% of the future will be pure electric, the degree of competition can be imagined and it must be very fierce; while the extended range is only 30%, but in this field, Fisker is the originator. Our technology is more advanced, and there will be relatively few competitors, and the sales volume of our extended-range platform may be higher than that of pure electric vehicles.” Zhou Liang added that which technology route to choose in the future does not depend on the Quantity depends on technological breakthroughs. At present, there is no clear route choice.
At the same time, Zhou Liang also said that the real value of future cars is reflected in intelligent high-tech technology, and this is also the key point of future customer-customized services. Taking automobile chassis as an example, most automobile chassis are integrated and standardized at this stage, and gradually lose their original “high value”, because once standardized, they can be mass-produced, and the phenomenon of homogeneity is too serious.
“The personalization in the market today is more hardware-inspired, but the future personalization must be more software-inspired. It is impossible to make any distinctive products purely by hardware, so Advanced technology is definitely the main development direction of Karma Automobile.” Zhou Liang said that in the future, Karma Automobile will accelerate its own development process through the investment and development of technologies such as the Internet, performance, artificial intelligence, shared mobile platform and powertrain.
