On November 17, the 21st Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition officially opened. The development of smart cars and new energy vehicles is not only a revolution in transportation, but also a change in lifestyle and mindset. With the continuous upgrading of competition in new energy vehicles, more new products and technologies will appear before the world. This year’s Guangzhou Auto Show will be themed “New Technology, New Life,” showcasing the latest technological achievements brought about by the development of smart cars and the new changes they bring to consumers. In response to this, different executives have expressed their views. Although the momentum of new energy vehicles is obvious, in the field of conventional vehicles, Lynk & Co. also has its own persistence, which is to create performance car products that have been lacking in the Chinese market. Mu Jun, deputy general manager of Lynk & Co. Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., said, “A car that can continue to run on the track, is fun, and can be modified. Although this demand is not very mainstream, it is enough to influence a group of people.” He believes that high-performance cars should have a place in China.
The following is an interview record: Sina Auto: Looking down at yesterday’s private meeting, you were the most eye-catching because you are the tallest. Mu Jun: But I did listen carefully throughout the meeting yesterday and I gained a lot. In fact, we need to understand how to generate more traffic in this era. I think traditional car companies, as well as traditional marketers like us, really need to learn these new things well. Sina Auto: Teacher Chen Yao said that everyone is still doing things from ten years ago. If that’s the case, your marketing methods may already be very outdated. Mu Jun: But there is another interesting saying, called “stick to the original and be creative” because consumers have not undergone fundamental changes. They still have the same cognition and sources of information. We are just saying similar things on more and different platforms where they have more exposure. If we want to make a relatively popular product, we still need to stick to the original and be creative. Otherwise, if we all move in the same direction, we will find that what we say may not necessarily reach the real target customers. Sina Auto: It seems that you have a certain persistence in your methods. Let’s officially start today’s topic. You just mentioned mass-produced cars. In my opinion, the launch of Lynk 03++ this time may not be considered a mass-produced car. What is the significance of this model for our 03 family or for the brand? Mu Jun: I think Lynk wants to do a few things: First, we want to be a brand with warmth, a user-oriented brand, and a brand with its own ideas. If we really want to make customers feel that we are such a brand, there are some things we have to do, such as “keeping our word.” In 2019, it was reasonable for us to launch 03+ and even 03++. However, we did not expect that in 2020, we encountered various situations that lasted for almost three years, which hindered the original investment and development plans. However, since we’ve already said in 2019, and indeed received a fanatical response from a group of enthusiasts, it can’t be said that they express their meaning all the time, but often we can see that the power for us to make this car is that they keep saying, “We cannot be absent. High performance should have a place in China.” In the case of such a clear transition to new energy, they say, “I want a gasoline car. I want a car that can continue to run on the track, is fun, and can be modified.” This demand, although not very popular, is enough to influence a group of people. When we were making the Lynk & Co 03+, we already felt the enthusiasm of the customers. Initially, I thought that a car like the 03+ could sell around 2,000 to 3,000 units in a year, and around 5,000 to 6,000 units in two to three years, and at most 7,000 to 8,000 units before it stopped selling. But in the past few years, our Lynk & Co 03+ has sold more than 20,000 units in China, so I think it’s not that there’s no market, but that people didn’t see this demand before. You didn’t make a product that really satisfied them. Therefore, when we insisted on making the Lynk & Co 03++, we actually saw the customers, saw this group of people cheering, that is the real recognition for me. Of course, you can say whether it helps the Lynk & Co 03 performance family, whether it helps the Lynk & Co. I think it does. Lynk & Co is a brand that “walks the talk.” I think this is a very core issue. Secondly, we really don’t just want people in China to think you’re good. We want to make all international brands, all marketers or managers, say that Lynk & Co is a good brand. In fact, we feel that in the future, China should have a more international perspective, and should allow global practitioners to evaluate whether you are doing well or not. This respect will ultimately affect whether the brand can last, whether it can go global, and what kind of brand definition it brings. I think this is the driving force for us to insist on completing what we have said. Sina Auto: In other words, do you think that the Lynk & Co 03, including the 03++, is considered a leader in Chinese cars, whether in car culture or otherwise? Mu Jun: We feel that Lynk & Co does not want to be a leader, we want to be a promoter of any automotive power. From big to strong, the final result must be to cultivate a unique car culture. If you do not have a car culture to support you, you will find that you may have good sales, and even a large volume, but you are not strong enough to impress some real fans. This actually requires you to cultivate culture. In car culture, car racing culture is one of them, and Lynk & Co has chosen this path because it does have the ability and genes. On November 19, the 2023 TCR World Touring Car Race ended at the Macau Guia Circuit. The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing team drove the 03TCR race car to win the 2023 TCR World Touring Car Race team championship with an absolute lead of 977 points. The five-year six-time result achieved a new breakthrough for Chinese brands in top-level touring car races around the world. On the same day, the 2023 TCR China also ended the year-long competition, and the Shell JK Lynk & Co team also won the team championship. Lynk & Co has proven the strength of Chinese brands, Chinese manufacturing, and Chinese drivers with its performance. After discussing this, we have another idea. Car racing is not just a pure marketing action. We brought culture back to China. Our chairman built two tracks in China and established a Lynk & Co car racing culture experience center in Ningbo. Then we organized domestic racing events and conducted a lot of training. In fact, we don’t just want to participate in world-class races, we want Chinese consumers and enthusiasts to experience these races around them. This is about slowly cultivating culture. So I think we are not leaders, we should be promoters. We welcome more Chinese brands, and even international brands, to do this in China. Let’s all slowly expand this hobby and make the cultural atmosphere richer. I think this is what we want to do now, and it is also what we are doing. Returning to the Lynk & Co 03++, we found that these races and car racing actually have a very positive impact on product development. For example, like this car, all of our tests are carried out by professional domestic professional drivers. Why? Because ordinary test drivers and ordinary consumers cannot drive this car to its limit. They cannot test it and do not have the racing experience to provide feedback, such as whether it is a brake problem, a steering problem, a suspension problem, or a tire problem. They cannot provide that kind of feedback because it requires rich experience in extreme driving. Each time we test, we invite drivers of this level, even in our recent tests, we invited a Chinese driver from the Lynk & Co team that competes globally in TCR, Ma Qinghua. He gave us three suggestions, saying that in these three areas there are some deficiencies, but note that our previous professional drivers in domestic races did not find these deficiencies. After evaluating, what he said made sense, so we went to work. In fact, we have always been using this kind of force to explore the performance of this car. Returning to the question, is handling a car’s core competitive strength? I think so because, first, it brings driving pleasure, and second, it brings safety because the higher its limit, the greater the possibility of avoiding danger. We are actually challenging this limit. If all my data and abilities reach a level that can challenge on the racetrack, then the handling of my next product will definitely be strong because our experience and data can prove this. This is what we have discovered about the role of car sports and racing events in the development of civilian cars. These two are complementary. Sina Auto: You were particularly proud when you were talking about these things just now. Mu Jun: Yes. Sina Auto: A particularly happy feeling Mu Jun: Yes, for a company, a brand to be able to give us this kind of opportunity to realize our ideals and aspirations, it is not entirely a commercial act. I made a car, I sold it, I did well, I made money, you can say it’s a commercial act, right? But if we can still do some things we like, and gain some spiritual fulfillment, I think it’s particularly cool. Sina Auto: In fact, China’s starting power in this area is relatively late, especially in making high-performance cars. In fact, there were no precedents before, so we had to feel our way across the river. So based on this situation, how are we going to solve the problems we encounter? Mu Jun: Co-creation Sina Auto: Co-creation refers to Mu Jun: We connect R&D with customers, as I mentioned earlier, enthusiasts, some of whom are well-known experts, as well as some media teachers, such as media teachers with insights into the racetrack, and professional drivers. We put these four groups of people together to sit down and discuss while driving to figure out what you really want and what kind of product you need. So we can know that in the end, this car has achieved everything the customer wants. What the customer wants is a legally modified road car. So what is “legal”? We had R&D do a lot of legal analysis and found that we can use a child seat, install a roll cage, and install a six-point safety belt. However, the six-point safety belt cannot be installed alone; it needs to have a three-point safety belt. So when we installed the six-point safety belt in the car, we also had a three-point safety belt. We later discovered that the reason is that when a car with a six-point safety belt is on the road, the camera can’t see you, which can result in the loss of not wearing a seat belt. So you must wear a seat belt on the road. These are the things we discovered, many interesting things. There are many things in China’s traffic regulations. After we studied them carefully, we found that it is feasible. For example, like this large spoiler, no Chinese automaker has ever tried it before because they all think it’s illegal. But it’s not. It’s legal as long as it doesn’t block more than a certain proportion of the rear window area. So it’s possible. We think that what we are doing is very beneficial to the entire R&D team and our marketing team. Everyone involved in this process is satisfied and has gained something. Our thinking has broadened a lot. We can actually achieve 80% of what customers need. And we have received a lot of positive feedback. We believe that this car is definitely not a mass-market product. It can only be appreciated and solved by a group of people who understand it and like it, and they must have a certain level of economic strength. After all, a Lynk & Co 03+ TCR Cyan costs 420,000 yuan (58730$), and I have found that these users who buy this model usually drive cars worth 1 million yuan. Sina Auto: My final question, in terms of racing sports, we are definitely continuously moving forward, but we also know that in these international events, major manufacturers including Ford may interrupt their participation for various reasons. In the future, if we view racing as a marketing behavior, when the benefits brought by this marketing behavior cannot be quantified or reach a marginal effect, will we also encounter interruptions? Mu Jun: Professional racing events are actually quite distant from customers. Customers can only observe from afar and cannot experience it because the differentiation is too great. I want to say that what we are doing now has already established a pyramid-shaped experience and system. It is a system. We may not participate in top-level events, but the experiences, training, and advanced racing experiences that I provide to customers will not stop. Lynk & Co will continue to do this. So I think, for the promotion of car racing culture and the improvement of user experience, Lynk & Co will continue to do this. It’s not something that can be achieved by watching a few international events. It’s more about whether you want to go from being a novice driver to a professional racer. This process has already been established by Lynk & Co. We can train a completely novice user into a professional driver, and even if they have talent and are willing to truly pursue a career, they really need talent, and at the same time, they need to be willing to invest, just like the skateboarders we see at these sporting events, these kids, it’s the parents who have invested a lot of passion and help. Racing is the same, it requires talent and resources in order to reach the top international racing events as long as they have the skills, we can always send them to the top international events. Sina Auto: What you said really excites me. Mu Jun: Yes. Sina Auto: The vision of nurturing a novice into a professional athlete is really attractive. Mu Jun: There are really more and more young people like this now. Sina Auto: There are really many because the threshold for playing this thing is relatively high, and a manufacturer can provide everyone with an opportunity, which is very attractive and suitable for becoming a hot topic on Weibo. Mu Jun: When we talked about the hot topic of Weibo operation that day, I felt that motorsport is not a niche topic. Sina Auto: Not niche. Mu Jun: Now more and more people are becoming interested in sports. We used to feel that many sports were far away from us, such as skateboarding and equestrianism. But in China, there is a new phenomenon where more and more people are trying these sports. I think as long as we lower the threshold for racing, everyone can come and experience it. Then you can discover whether you have a genuine passion for it. If you do, we can continue because out of ten people, one or two will really be interested, and their passion is powerful. We see some people who can really move us. In every race, they try to participate as much as possible or watch as much as possible. They try to communicate with the drivers, discussing how to do things in a certain place, that kind of spirit. When we launched the Lynk & Co 03++, several customers and media representatives were moved to tears as they shared their feelings with me. This touched me and made me feel that what I did was not just about the car. Like I said, this car is definitely not just about making money, but about doing something that moves people. I feel that in life, you should do a few things like this. Doing this, my emotional connection to my career is different. It’s true, when I see men in their 30s and 20s getting emotional and teary-eyed about this, I get a feeling that China has made its mark in this field. It’s amazing. Of course, this is not just me, it’s a group of people, a group of customers, all working together to support and create. At most, I am a facilitator, so I don’t think we are leaders, we are just facilitators. Sina Auto: Not only a warm company, but also a humble company. Mu Jun: The future road is long and there is so much to do. In fact, I may not see the day when it is fully realized in my lifetime, but I think it’s important to do work that satisfies me in this stage of my life. Sina Auto: Alright, that’s all for today. Thank you.