Li Shufu's luxury car brand recruits a trader

Lotus, which is poised to make a strong comeback, has welcomed a key player.

A week ago, Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng flew to the headquarters in Hethel, UK to live stream a factory tour for netizens, and even took a few laps in their flagship supercar Evija worth over 20 million RMB. In this eye-catching live stream, former Great Wall Motors executive Qiao Xinyu unexpectedly appeared as Feng Qingfeng's partner.

As the former head of marketing for the Great Wall Haval brand, Qiao Xinyu disappeared from the public eye at the end of last year, with news of his departure from Great Wall spreading quickly. His once active Weibo platform fell silent until this live stream.

This public appearance can be seen as a low-key official announcement from both sides. Sources close to Lotus revealed to Wall Street News that Qiao Xinyu joined Lotus in the first half of this year, and he will now serve as the head of marketing, overseeing domestic marketing and other business operations.

Industry insiders believe that Feng Qingfeng's choice of Qiao Xinyu to take on the major responsibilities in the domestic market is likely due to his years of experience in managing high-end brands and his outstanding performance, which is exactly what Lotus urgently needs.

Seven years ago, Li Shufu, a car enthusiast, acquired this legendary British brand, preparing to reshape it into a top-tier all-electric luxury brand through electrification and intelligence, as a key point in Geely's global strategy and brand elevation.

However, reality did not go as smoothly as imagined.

Last year, Lotus delivered nearly 7,000 new cars globally, an improvement from the previous level of just over 1,000 before Geely's acquisition. However, Porsche and Ferrari, which were once on par with Lotus, sold 320,000 and 13,600 cars respectively last year, with Ferrari's net profit exceeding 1 billion euros for the first time.

As the supercar brand that Li Shufu values the most, Lotus, under pressure from scale and still incurring losses, urgently needs to accelerate.

According to the plan, this year will be a period of significant growth for Lotus, with Feng Qingfeng setting a target to triple sales (26,000 units for the whole year). Four products under Lotus have already been launched and delivered, with Feng Qingfeng's "3+3" product strategy yielding more than half of the results. However, in terms of sales, only 2,194 units were delivered in the first quarter, still far from the annual target.

Lotus is not lacking in product strength, whether it's aerodynamics, lightweight design, or chassis tuning capabilities, it is a "godfather" in the automotive industry. Tesla's first Roadster used Lotus' body and chassis design; in terms of intelligence, it is also at the forefront with Porsche. Lei Jun, before starting his own car company, specifically bought a Lotus all-electric SUV Eletre S+ for research.

However, Lotus' dazzling brand history, glorious racing achievements, and sports genes are currently only appreciated by a small circle of racing enthusiasts. Feng Qingfeng admitted to Wall Street News, "Lotus is still a very niche brand, it has not yet achieved global recognition and acceptance by all users."

Breaking into a wider market has become Lotus' top priority, and Feng Qingfeng needs a capable person to help him break through and tell the unique story of choosing Lotus to the market. Qiao Xinyu has become this key player.

Looking at his past experience, Qiao Xinyu, who has worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years and held executive positions at Beijing Benz and Volkswagen China, has long been responsible for marketing. He has been involved in the launch of Volkswagen's million-level executive sedan Phaeton, Mercedes-Benz C-Class/long-wheelbase E-Class, and the formulation of strategies for related models in the Chinese market He also worked with the current Lotus Tech China CEO Mao Jingbo during his tenure at Beijing Mercedes-Benz.

Now, Qiao Xinyu is returning to the familiar luxury track once again, and will partner with Mao Jingbo to accelerate Lotus Tech's development in the domestic market.

Although Lotus Tech has started to accelerate its expansion overseas this year, the Chinese market remains its main battlefield for incremental contribution in the future, accounting for 40% of its market share. This will also be the "tough nut" that Lotus Tech must crack in order to become a top luxury supercar brand and regain its former glory.

"Last year, the penetration rate of electric vehicles priced above $80,000 (approximately RMB 600,000) in China was only 7-8%." Mao Jingbo told Wall Street News that the Chinese pure electric luxury car market still needs to be cultivated, and the demand of target customers has not been fully tapped into.

Indeed, this is a very attractive market. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that last year, the sales of Class D new energy vehicles in China increased by over 160%, and the market size of Class C new energy vehicles also exceeded one million units, with a growth rate of up to 73%.

"What I want to do is quickly open up the brand's presence and let more people know about Lotus Tech." Mao Jingbo boldly declared that this year, Lotus Tech will make a strong comeback.

To achieve this, she has prioritized brand marketing, aiming to cultivate users and build a marketing system from scratch, preparing for the market to be fully activated. Qiao Xinyu, who previously managed Haval's new energy direct sales system, new cars, and technology dissemination, has considerable experience in this area.

Currently, the new energy vehicle industry has entered a highly competitive phase, where deeper levels of technological competitiveness will become the main theme of the next era. Testing and competition in extreme conditions on various tracks for supercars, is irreplaceable for the development of hardcore technology. Looking back, this is a prerequisite for the glory of the global automotive giants, and the foundation of the automotive industry's brilliance in Germany, the United States, and Japan.

"When Li Shufu produced less than a million vehicles a year at Geely, he regarded Toyota and Volkswagen as his goals to strive for. Geely definitely needs a luxury sports car brand like this." Former Geely Group Vice President Yu Ning said.

Therefore, the effectiveness of Lotus Tech's push this year is crucial, as it will be a milestone to test its quality. After successfully passing this test, Lotus Tech will have the opportunity to compete with the "Porsches". Next, a Class D SUV with the codename TYPE 134, and an electric sports car are ready to hit the market, with a total of six models aiming to achieve a sales peak of 150,000 units by 2028.

This is a watershed moment for Lotus Tech's destiny, and a key battle for Geely Group to realize its high-end dream