Author | Chen Yixun
Edit | Sun Chunfang
2022 is destined to be an extraordinary year for all new energy vehicle companies. In the first half of 2022, the entire automotive industry encountered problems such as epidemic, rising raw material prices, and tight chip supply. During this period, it was inevitable that production and sales would be affected to a certain extent. How to overcome resistance and maintain the sustainability of enterprises has become a problem that new energy vehicle companies, including Lantu Automobile, need to think about together.
In November 2022, Lantu Auto announced the completion of the A round of financing of nearly 5 billion yuan, and the valuation of Lantu Auto after financing is nearly 30 billion yuan. After this round of financing, Lantu Auto does not rule out continued financing. At the same time, Lantu Auto will also consider the follow-up IPO plan based on the market and regulatory policies.
As a new energy vehicle brand under Dongfeng Group, Lantu Automobile was established in 2018 and later spun off from the parent company for independent operation in 2021. In December 2021, Lantu Automobile’s Series A financing was officially launched, and after nearly a year, it finally landed.
In the second half of 2022, new forces began to reshuffle, and capital markets became more cautious and conservative in investing in new energy vehicles. Lu Fang, CEO of Lantu Automobile, said that the current international economic situation is severe, and in the complex environment of multiple unfavorable factors, the investment and financing of the automobile and parts industry has become more difficult. In this context, the successful financing of Lantu Automobile reflects the full recognition and confidence of investors in the primary market in the value of Lantu Automobile’s investment.
However, Lu Fang also said: "Now I feel like walking on thin ice every day, I have to participate in the competition as a competitor, and I have to survive the competition."
Q: Lantu Auto recently received 5 billion yuan A round of financing. What is the main use of this money? Will there be financing plans in the future? Is there an approximate time point for listing, and is there some information to disclose and share?
A: This financing is mainly used to support Lantu technology research and development, digital system construction, capacity building and marketing investment and other related matters related to Lantu’s main business operation and expansion. It is expected that more than 40% of the expenses will be used for technology research and development. We hope to use the money to really support the sustainable development of Lantu.
In the future, on the basis of this round of successful financing, Lantu will continue to carry out follow-up rounds of financing work according to actual development needs and market conditions. Follow-up financing is not only financial investment, but also strategic coordination in business. Please refer to Lantu’s follow-up announcement for specific capital operation plans.
Q: Lantu Auto has recently gone to Norway. What is Lantu’s follow-up plan for going to sea? Did you encounter any difficulties in the process of going to sea?
A: Entering Norway is just the first step for Lantu to go overseas. At present, Lantu Dreamer is carrying out adaptive development in Europe and is expected to go overseas in 2023. In the future, Lantu will also enter the market of other European countries. The ultimate goal is to enter the German or French market through efforts in the next two or three years. Germany and France are traditional automobile powerhouses. If they can be recognized by local consumers in their markets, it will prove that Lantu’s cars can be recognized by most people in the world.
Lantu has entered Norway as a new brand that has only been established for more than two years. It is head-to-head with mature European brands. Its reputation and product strength need to be verified by the local market, and it will definitely face certain challenges. Lantu has been developing and testing corresponding products in accordance with the consumer needs, regulatory requirements, and market environment of Norway and other European countries.
At present, Chinese car companies go overseas to Norway in the form of vehicle exports. Under the influence of the pandemic, there will be a certain degree of delays and challenges in the transportation link. How to adapt to local laws and regulations, policies, user usage habits and local usage environment are some of the problems that car companies will face when going overseas. To enter the local market, the most important thing is to understand the needs of users, integrate with local consumers and culture, and then reach a consensus.
Q, the product pricing of Lantu Automobile is above 300,000, this kind of high-end play is very different from BYD and Aian starting from the low end and then challenging the high end. What kind of market and product reasons does Lantu make this decision?
A: At present, China’s manufacturing and consumption are upgrading, moving towards a higher direction, and the same is true for the automotive industry. Chinese cars cannot always compete at a low level, and high-end brand power can support sustainable development. At the same time, with consumption upgrading, consumers’ demand for high-end cars is strong, and China has better independent brands to meet consumers’ needs in this regard, rather than being occupied by BBA. At present, consumers also prefer to buy smart electric vehicles rather than fuel vehicles. At this time, domestic car brands are naturally needed to meet consumers’ needs.
It must be difficult to be a high-end brand at the beginning, but although things are difficult, someone has to do it. Lantu is a high-end electric brand under Dongfeng, carrying the important tasks of the group’s brand upward and the country’s independent mastery of core technologies. High-end is not high-end in price, but should be high-end in all aspects of products, services and experiences. At the same time, high-end brands can also adapt to the needs of the overall economy and user consumption upgrades after they are made.
Q. Intelligence is a major selling point of new energy vehicles. What stage has Lantu Automobile reached in the development of intelligent technology? Are there any plans to acquire mobile phone companies or cooperate with other Internet companies?
A: LANTU has been doing electrification and intelligence since the beginning, and has done a lot of work in intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, etc. Last month, LANTU released its ESSA + SOA intelligent electric bionic, which solves the problems faced by new energy vehicles in both electrification and intelligence to the greatest extent. By decoupling the software from the hardware, the car becomes a self-defining product like a mobile phone, and LANTU can open up a lot of content to developers and users. This is a revolutionary change in the electronic and electrical architecture of the whole vehicle.
At present, Landmap has no plans to cooperate with mobile phone companies.
Q. How many people are there in the current Lantu automotive team? What is the proportion of R & D personnel in it? How much is the annual investment in R & D?
A: Landmap Automotive currently has more than 4,000 personnel. In the field of R & D, Landmap has assembled a R & D team with electrification and intelligent engineers as the core. Landmap R & D personnel account for 38% of the total number of technology companies, and the proportion of R & D teams is the largest in new vehicle companies. The number of personnel in the core R & D field increased by 73% compared to October 2021. The average age of the team is 32.6 years old, and the proportion of graduate students and above is 38%.
In addition to full-stack self-research, Dongfeng Group has also provided a lot of technical support to Landmap in terms of Sandian, intelligent networking, etc. Landmap will turn these advantages into the source of its own development.
Q. Previously, Lantu Automobile also talked about that it should not become Wei Xiaoli, nor will it become Wei Xiaoli. Lantu’s positioning is a national high-end new energy brand, and its mission is to compete head-on when BBA is fully electrified. BBA has also begun its electric transformation, and BBA has the genes of traditional luxury brands. As a brand new brand, what is the biggest advantage of Lantu Automobile in competing with BBA?
A: In recent years, in terms of the development of China and the international automobile market, whether it is supply chain, technology or product strength, Chinese automobiles have been completely inferior to international traditional automobile powers, especially China’s leading technological advantages in the "New Four Modernizations" and "Three Electrics", so that China’s automobile product level, R & D capabilities and production quality have the strength to compete with foreign high-end brands on the same stage.
In terms of technology, the electronic and electrical architecture of Lantu vehicles is completely based on pure electric drive, and it is a real electric vehicle rather than an oil-to-electricity product. In fact, many products, including BBA, are still based on the development concept of oil-to-electricity; secondly, from joint ventures to autonomous Chinese cars, whether in the development of vehicle performance or in the control of vehicle quality, including in the supply chain, we have the ability to create products that are not inferior to BBA or even superior to them. More importantly, in high-end smart electric vehicles, China is far ahead, and many ecological partners in Europe also admit that the intelligence of Chinese electric vehicles is at least 5-10 years ahead of them.
Frankly speaking, the current Chinese car brand power may not be as good as that of foreign countries, but with the passage of time, China’s brand power may soon surpass them at some point. In a few years, the advantage of Chinese brands may become more obvious, and even part of the BBA market will be competed for and transformed into China’s own high-end new energy vehicle brand market.
Q. Many companies are talking about user-based enterprises and user co-creation. What is Landmap’s understanding of user-based enterprises?
A: The so-called user-based enterprises, it is crucial to understand the user’s pain points. Many times, the user pain points that enterprises understand are not the same as the user’s own pain points. The key is to understand from the user’s perspective. Returning to the source depends on how to continuously provide users with reliable products and services through technological innovation.
Landmap’s understanding of user-based enterprises is not a NIO-style service type, nor is it only focused on the single dimension of cockpit or intelligent driving. Landmap has vehicle technology, Internet technology, and an ecological development platform based on the future. It integrates self-developed technical capabilities such as platforms and architectures to build connections with users, focusing on users’ needs in vehicle driving control, intelligence, and safety, and realizes comprehensive technology.
Q. What do you think of the new energy vehicle market in the past two years, the rise of Tesla and new Chinese automakers?
A: New forces have a lot of innovative thinking worth learning. Together, they can expand the market, which is good for all high-end electric brands. Electric vehicles have the ability to compete with traditional fuel vehicles. Only with competition can they grow. Only with excellent competitors can they stimulate their maximum potential and continuously move towards a better direction.
But at the same time, the competition in the future will also be very cruel. Not only are traditional car companies making new energy vehicles, but many new players are also entering the industry. If you look at the mobile phone industry in the past 10 or 20 years, the new car industry will also leave a batch to be eliminated. Lantu is also walking on thin ice every day. We hope that we can survive and cannot stop or slow down, so we must participate in the cruel competition as competitors in this process.
LANTU builds cars for users, not for capital. Sales are important, but LANTU pays more attention to the user experience. LANTU and Wei Xiaoli are the brothers of the new Chinese car-making forces. The competitor of the new force is Tesla, and the competitor of LANTU is the brand of high-end foreign group companies. Let’s transform together to create a healthy development environment for China’s high-end electric brands.
Q. Now the new forces, including Wei Xiaoli, are basically in the midst of losses. The investment in the early stage of the enterprise is naturally important, but when the sales volume is still climbing, the continuous loss will inevitably bring financial pressure. Will it have an impact on the future development of the enterprise? What are the plans of Landmap in terms of profitability?
A: From a business perspective, we definitely hope to achieve profitability as soon as possible. At present, Landmap is constantly increasing sales while also controlling costs. For new energy, you still need to be patient. The auto industry is a long-term thing, and building a new brand is also a long-term thing. If you just take a small time stage of the company to judge and compare, and then make a conclusion, the result will definitely be unfair. In fact, it took a long time for Tesla to make a profit. I believe that all excellent companies will eventually make a profit.
Q. What are the greatest achievements of Landmap in 2022? What are the plans for 2023?
A: In 2022, Lantu completed a series of major actions, completed the product layout of three major categories in three years, went to Europe, completed the A round of financing, released the world’s first ESSA native intelligent electric architecture and centralized SOA electronic and electrical architecture, and was selected for the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council "Double Hundred Enterprises" list. It can be said that as a brand established for only two years, Lantu continued to maintain rapid development in 2022. But there are also some regrets, such as the impact of the epidemic on the automotive supply chain, and the impact on the factory production end.
In 2023, Lantu will continue to maintain rapid development. At the brand level, Lantu will continue to adhere to the brand positioning of high-end new energy vehicles, face the competition of foreign luxury brands, and promote the improvement of national independent car brands; in terms of products, the electric car Lantu Chasing Light will be released soon, and it will be delivered to users in 2023. Lantu will have three sub-products to serve users. Lantu will also continue to adhere to the strategic layout of one new car a year, and lay out more market segments in the fields of SUVs, MPVs, and cars to meet differentiated user requests. In terms of international market development, the first batch of Lantu FREE to go to Norway has arrived in Norway. After the Norwegian market, Lantu Dreamer will also be officially launched into the European market in 2023. In the future, Landmap cars will also enter four countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Israel.
