A New Luxury EV Brand Launches: BeyonCa
Author: Qiu Kaijun
Editor: Wang Lingfang
Another new electric vehicle brand is born.
But this time it’s different: First of all, it was initiated by a well-known automotive manager, Su Weiming; secondly, its goal is to create a luxury brand; thirdly, it has received heavy investments from Dongfeng Group and Renault Group.
On October 30th, the luxury intelligent electric vehicle brand, BeyonCa, held its release conference, officially appearing globally, and also showcased the Gran Turismo Opus 1 (referred to as GT Opus 1), which represents the company’s unique positioning and superb car-making level.
What makes this brand have the confidence to compete with predecessors and other brands even though it comes a bit late in the game?
Top Manager + Backing by Giants
BeyonCa’s founder and chairman, Su Weiming, is a very experienced automotive manager.
Su Weiming is a Singaporean who served as the global executive vice president of Volkswagen Group and the highest-ranking Chinese automotive manager. He has been working in the automotive industry since 1995 and served as the Vice President of DaimlerChrysler (China) Investment Co., Ltd. He joined Volkswagen China in March 2005, serving as vice president, and made significant contributions to Volkswagen’s success in China.
Su Weiming introduced at the press conference that BeyonCa aims to become the new benchmark for global luxury intelligent electric vehicles. The company plans to unveil its first model and announce its Chinese name in the spring of next year. The first mass-produced vehicle will be launched in 2024.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our strategic investors, such as Dongfeng Group and Renault Group,” Su Weiming said as the press conference was drawing to a close, demonstrating the “background” of BeyonCa.You can also see BeyonCa’s parent company “Beijing Binli Information Technology Co., Ltd.” by checking the business information. BeyonCa HK Limited’s largest shareholder is Dongfeng Motor Hong Kong Company, accounting for 44.98%; Renault holds 14.99%; and the other three shareholders seem to be the team members.
This structure is somewhat similar to that of the previous BYTON. The major shareholders are the major investors, but the chairman and the team members are the actual initiators and controllers, and they come from well-known car companies.
Su Weiming also expressed his gratitude to Changjiang Capital, Wuhan Municipal People’s Government, Huangpi District People’s Government, Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Government, Jiangtai Township Party Committee and Government.
It is reasonable to speculate that Changjiang Capital may participate in BeyonCa’s investment and introduce its factories or contract manufacturers to Wuhan. Beijing Chaoyang will be the headquarters of BeyonCa.
Luxury smart electric window opening
BeyonCa, which was just released, can be said to be a follower of smart electric vehicles. However, Su Weiming believes that this is just the eve of the outbreak of luxury electric vehicle market.
He said that the new generation of technologies and infrastructures such as CTP/CTC batteries, 800V voltage platform, 130 kWh battery, and 300 kW fast charging are gradually being applied, and user mileage anxiety will be basically solved. The electric vehicle market has entered the consumer-driven stage and entered the upward phase of the S curve.Quantitative changes lead to qualitative ones. 80 million new cars are sold globally each year, with 25 million of them in China. China has the world’s largest electric vehicle market with a penetration rate of 25% to 30%. The window for luxury electric cars will last from 2025 to 2030. Su Weiming said, “When this market enters the upward phase of the S curve, the luxury electric vehicle market will also rapidly explode—it is a market of millions of units each year.”
BeyonCa’s core team consists of senior professionals from various fields including global automobile manufacturing, technology, consumer electronics, the internet, and health.
Currently, BeyonCa has offices in three countries and five cities, including three research and development centers in China, a design center in Munich, and a Singapore branch that is planned to be upgraded to a technology center.
Prioritizing Health
The BeyonCa brand name consists of Beyond + Car, and it aims to go beyond cars. BeyonCa builds transportation solutions and an ecosystem based on deep insights into users’ in-car and out-of-car scenarios, providing unique experiences and creating a better life for users.
As a luxury brand, BeyonCa prioritizes health.
Su Weiming explained in a speech that, “When designing healthy scenarios, for example, we focus on issues like cardiovascular metabolism, which are often difficult to detect early on. How can we monitor users’ key life parameters daily, detect warnings, and reduce user risks at the same time? How can we provide a complete set of services for users from perception, response to assistance in emergency situations?”Su Weiming said that they will gather a team of expert doctors, automotive engineers, software and data engineers to work together to achieve this goal. “So far, we have developed an intelligent cockpit with real-time health monitoring, which can achieve Total Sensing, based on AI technology, full response, as well as full touch, through cloud doctors.”
First Concept Car GT Opus 1
In its release, BeyonCa showcased its first concept car, GT Opus 1, revealing the philosophy of the brand.
GT Opus 1 features the BeyonCa Dynamic Logo, “Light of Life.”
The logo design is inspired by the diamond-cut reflecting the sunlight, which exudes glittering brilliance. When the car recognizes its owner, the logo is lit up from within, with light flowing and displaying a rotating DNA against a blue diamond background.
GT Opus 1’s styling pursues sportiness and elegance, passion without losing restraint, technology and nobility in harmony. The front face has a high recognition of the “V” shape, and the “Light of Life” is embedded on it. The shoulder line starts from the top of the headlight and extends all the way back to the rear of the car, slightly dipping downward, succinctly carving out innate athletic genes. The prominent fender creates a visual shadow that gives a full sense of power.
This large sedan has a wheelbase of about 3.2 meters, width of over 2 meters, and an expected 0-100 km acceleration time of less than 4 seconds, tuned by a European team.
The interior design attempts to blend luxury and technology, classic and modern, reality and virtuality. The entire vehicle is covered in Fine Nappa leather, crystal inlaid art, and a turbine-style clock, all highlighting the taste and luxury of meticulous design.
With the arrival of BeyonCa, another new player has been added to the Chinese smart electric car brands that have already been through one cycle.
Fortunately, the field in which BeyonCa is located is not yet crowded. So far, only a few luxurious brands such as Lotus and Gaohe have developed in China.
As Su Weiming said, China has the elements to build a successful car brand. Su Weiming and his team are indeed superb. But will their background as professional managers affect their product definition and business operation capabilities? Based on scenario-based car manufacturing, will they fall into the trap of so-called Internet car manufacturing? Whether the shareholder structure can fully support the management’s actions also needs to be continuously observed.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.