After a century of baptism, Bentley not only pays attention to exquisite style and innovative technology, but also develops in the direction of youthfulness and high customization in view of the current consumption trend, and has a natural sports gene.
In view of the development of Bentley brand and the innovation of new technology, we had the honor to interview Mr. Bernd Pichler, executive general manager of Bentley Motors in Chinese mainland, Hongkong and Macau.
The interview content is as follows:
Q 1: I understand that Chengdu is a new first-tier city in China. Does Bentley have any special layout or strategy in emerging first-tier cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou?
Bi Xile: First of all, the southwest of China, including Sichuan Province, is our very important regional market. At present, we have set up brand authorized dealers in Chongqing and Chengdu to help us continue to work here.
For Bentley, Chengdu Auto Show is as important as Beijing Auto Show. At this year's auto show, we showed our entire product lineup to meet the needs of customers in southwest China for ultra-luxury travel.
Q2: From the product point of view, Bentley brand has successively launched the plug-in hybrid version of Tim Yue and the plug-in hybrid version of Feichi. So what kind of plans does Bentley have for hybrid models in the future?
Mr. Bi Xile: Based on the business strategy of "Beyond 100", Bentley is committed to becoming a car manufacturer leading the sustainable ultra-luxury travel mode. This business strategy has accelerated the transformation of our products to electrification.
At 202 1 Shanghai Auto Show, we released a hybrid version of Tim Yue Plug-in. In addition, we recently launched a hybrid version of flight plug-in. This new work will accept customer orders in the near future and is scheduled to be delivered in 2022.
The electrification development process of Bentley brand also includes: by 2023, providing hybrid vehicle selection for all cars; It is estimated that the first pure electric vehicle will be launched before 2025; In 2026, all cars will be plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicles; By 2030, all products of Bentley brand will be pure electric vehicles.
Q3:？ In addition to electric vehicles, we have seen that topics such as "automatic driving" and "intelligent driving" have recently sparked heated discussions. I want to know, for the Bentley brand, how to plan autonomous driving in the future?
Mr. Bi Xile: Autopilot is one of the development trends in the future. At present, because this technology has not reached maturity, there are still many uncertainties.
We can see that Bentley customers like to drive by car and have their own unique expressions of interior and exterior design. For this reason, Bentley's powerful performance and luxurious style meet their needs very well. While developing autonomous driving technology, it inherits the century-old accumulation in the process of building a car and makes flexible adjustments to the rapidly changing market. As a brand of audi ag, we rely on the advantages of Audi AG to continuously introduce cutting-edge technology into all our products.
Take today's Bentley Flying at the booth as an example. Its "Bentley three-sided steering central control panel" is built with forward-looking engineering concept. With a light press, the single board of the instrument panel in the center of the cockpit slides and flips silently, showing a 12.3-inch infotainment system touch screen, with three exquisite analog dials (thermometer, compass and timer) embedded, and a simple and pure wooden single board.
At the same time, we always pay attention to the organic integration of luxury style and strong performance. On the occasion of our centenary birthday, we launched the Bentley EXP 100 GT concept car with a retractable steering wheel. Even in 2035, we hope that customers can experience the fun of driving through Bentley. This is also one of the * * * enjoyment concepts we have established with our customers. Regarding other technologies, such as driver assistance systems, we will give priority to ensuring that these advanced technologies are applied to Bentley models.
In addition, I have confidence in the long-term development vision of the automobile industry. Bentley will move towards this aspect in the mature stage of technology research and development, including but not limited to technical safety, corresponding policy support, infrastructure and so on.
In the process of development, the ultra-luxury car market segment is constantly defined, creating new possibilities for ultra-luxury travel. In the extraordinary course of the second century, we have been paying close attention to the expectations of customers in China for ultra-luxury cars, and gave real-time feedback to the factory in Crewe, UK.
Q4: At present, many users of ultra-luxury brands in China are younger. I would like to ask what the age groups of China consumers of Bentley brand are, and is there an obvious trend of rejuvenation?
Mr. Bi Xile: We have indeed observed the trend of younger consumers of ultra-luxury cars. This phenomenon is also reflected in Bentley's customer base. The data shows that the average age of Bentley customers in China is 39 years old.
The extraordinary characteristics of Bentley not only connect young customers, but also attract a wide range of young people. Based on this, I believe that more and more people will favor the Bentley brand.
At the same time, we also see the emergence of many potential customers who have upgraded from luxury car brands to ultra-luxury car brands. In addition, some younger customers directly choose ultra-luxury car brands.
Q5:？ How do you think Bentley can create special services according to these characteristics of China consumers?
Mr. Bi Xile: First of all, we have seen that many Bentley customers have made certain achievements in their personal fields and bought Bentley cars as rewards. These people of insight have their own ideas and tastes on the exterior color and interior design of cars, hoping to show their personality through cars.
In this regard, the services provided by Mulliner, Bentley's personalized customization department, are designed to meet the exclusive needs of customers. We have outstanding body appearance, interior color matching, material selection and exquisite body customization technology, thus turning customers' personalized customization dreams into reality.
Q6: What is the target of Bentley brand in China market?
Mr. Bi Xile: Bentley brand has a clear development goal, and constantly meets the highest expectations of China customers with innovative products. As the executive general manager of Bentley Motors in China, Hongkong and Macau, I will make every effort to achieve this goal, ensure customer satisfaction, and strive to deliver more models to customers in China.
Looking forward to the whole year, we expect to deliver about 4,000 cars in the China market, thus setting a record high.