Name: How 5G Will Change The Way You Drive
Uploaded: 2019-11-07
Duration: 17 min 5 s
Description: How can 5G technology transform mobility and the automobile industry in particular? This long-term auto executive shares his forecasts and aspirations.

Fring, thank you so much for writing really pleased to have you here you have a really remarkable background you were at one of China's largest automakers G. Lee for 5 nearly 6 years and then supervise their acquisition of Volvo which was one of the most exciting. Deals in the industry and has been a real success since and you were really want to Julie's top the most executives and yet you've chosen to strike out on your own and work in a in a startup. Tell us why you made that decision and what was it about the the EV landscape that you found to be so attractive that you would leave [ UNKNOWN ] Well because I know [ UNKNOWN ] coming We need to do a little differently. Ridght. [ LAUGH ]. But I think after working for Fortune 500 American company, Fortune 500 US European company and Fortune 500 Chinese company and I was thinking probably I should do something by myself doing something pretty much from scratch from zero. It would be much more challenge and much more exciting to me, and so I decided that it was on 15, that I should start a new tech company focus on automotive and obviously the elects vehicle Was in the very early stage right in 2015. If you want to start something new, you want to do something in a very new industry, not something has been there for 100 years right. Established competitors, it's astonishing to me how quickly this particular new industry has has moved and and developed Your company is, what? About a year old Zendt, right? When did you launch? The company established was established in early 2015. We started in a vehicle about a year ago. A year ago, September 28, 2000. Right. Yeah. We spent. It took us about forty six months. Before we deliver the first car to our customer, and so the company yeah, so far for five years. That's pretty fast though to go from zero [ INAUDIBLE ] How many you've delivered how many cars thought? So far with deliver over 15, 000 cars on the road, right? It is not that fast actually because we hope we can do even faster. Because we are doing something completely new. On the other hand, our user and our customer was expecting they can always get in a Latest version of the parameters. So some of we have about 3000 users placed order earlier 2018 you even without seeing anything from us. Wow. So we can understand there was anxious to get our vehicle and then that's why we were telling our team we need to be fast. Yeah, with the good quality work, of course. Give us a sense of the the competitive landscape right now, because there are hundreds really of companies in China that are trying to make electric vehicles. And there, you know, you're one of a number of real standouts. But help us to understand how many players there are? And We're up against them. Well yes interestingly this is not my first time to get into this kind of situation when a returning from US the Chinese just open up the passenger car market to globally and then you'll have almost every single global giants come to China right and that you have about I don't know at that time people saying about 300 different kind of. Stop focus on the engine core that was about 15 years ago and then the competition fears and then turn out that some of the global competitor has been successful here and then very few have the chinese local. Quite successful like the [ UNKNOWN ] great wall and BYD, and most of them die, and then [ UNKNOWN ] that die. I think this is the second time in electric vehicle sector, people if you don't understand what happen past in the engine [ UNKNOWN ] you are quite surprise As a matter of fact, the stop for electric vehicle the number of stop of the actual vehicle actually is much less than when the 15 years ago 20 years ago when the engine passenger car started. On the other hand, we are doing something very differently. A lot of people only looking at us as transportation. To provide a vehicle itself, this vehicle was quite different because the power source was totally different. So you spend a lot of time you have to develop a new technology on that. But on the other hand, we believe it is also a smart ability terminal. That's we strongly believe 5g can play a key role on that. And thirdly, we also doing something our friends in a state great China stay great was calling. It's a mobility power bank, because it is a factory, a power band running on the road, helping the grid to balance their high and low. So There's so many new technology in these three area and that we're trying to do the product delivered our customer. It's totally different new, I don't see any established company had any advantage in these three areas. I see that's really interesting, and you mentioned something to me just a moment ago that I was really struck with. That you're the only new electric vehicle that enables not only being charged by the grid but also distributing power back into the grid as well. And why is that and why is that important? Exactly. We announced with the epic cooperation with the state income state great China. It's a technology with director Vito [ UNKNOWN ], the If you're looking the state the great companies not only in China globally they always struggling with how much they're gonna invest and how to balance the pic season and the last season Yeah Every day and you don't do the pic because he's going to waste a lot of your money, but you don't do the low because it means people cannot Right Get where they need it. In their mindset which exactly to what we thinking two years ago when we start a project, if you have millions WM motor vehicle on the road, you will naturally helping them to balance when we need the power and take it from the great when the great was needed a power we can use the vehicle feedback the electricity back to the green With the mechanism to motivate the user willing to do so. And so does that help bring prices down in some way for consumers are? Definitely I think that it's not only dramatically reduce the cost to using the electric vehicle, helping the grid company to reduce the capital investment significantly. But also that the if you drive more, there might be a chance to make some money out of that. Wow, that's that's kind of a cool model. Yes, exactly. So it is it is not only a transportation tool, it is again, this electric vehicle and it is a smart terminal. It is also a. Power bank helping the the user had a different way to have a bad experience but also there's a mechanism help you to motivate. And tell us how how 5g is a factor and all that? It was so exciting on that we're working on this project two years ago we hope we can become one of the first technology startup company can launch the five ticket car on the road The 4G is like you're driving on the high speed interstate highway and then 2G, it's like you're driving in a country road, but 5G is like you're driving in an airplane. People are talking about speed, people are talking if you're using the mobile phone, PC, computer, you have a better user experience. But remember, this only improve your User experience. the 5G application in the car is dead. And it's a death and like leaf, it is a safety issue. Right. So because when you do a 5G car, you want to use the technology to improve the autonomy drive. If you don't have 5G, the car in there is not safe. It's a very good job so it's a debt, Lift issues and safety issues. It not only improve the user experience . So, that's why I think the 5G application in other industry other product is fine. It make you feel better. But in our industry it makes you more safe. May you survive if you want to go really want to go to these autonomous drive vehicles. If you don't have 5G you just cannot make it. > Doesn't make it easier for you to Have upgrades for the software of [ CROSSTALK ] Definitely, definitely. When you're doing the smart vehicle, what we are working on it's always struggling where you're going to put this computing powe. In the loca, l on the crowd and then you need a strong connection between them. Obviously, the 5G provide a better speed, hundreds times faster A much lower delay, probably 100 times better. The delay will make the experience of the autonomy drive very different. Safety issue, right? And then the bandwidth is much better. So those Features 5G can provide will make the economy drive vehicle, will make the we call the smart copied in a safer way and much more better customer experience. Tell us a little bit about the model that you're offering right now is the X5, right? And Where is it positioned in kind of, I think people would generally recognize that Tesla is at the high end of the price point- Right. You're somewhere in between, what do you What are you offering at what price point? Well, we are starting price about $ 30, 000. [ UNKNOWN ]. I don't want to compare the brand motor with Tesla although we are probably the only one in China we're learning similar. We are the only electric vehicle stop had own factories. Right. You know as you know Tesla has put a lot of effort building. Factories in China. A lot of people when they stopped the electric vehicle company they don't believe it's important but looking at what Tesla doing, which more or less similarly to our strategy, our will build our own factory and own factory. Not only helping The quality of the product actually if it's helping us to reduce the costs in a much faster way, and that's why we can offer $ 30, 000 as our starting price for our product, pretty much the vehicle similar as the Volkswagen Touareg. It's a we call it a plus. But typically if you're not from this industry you don't really know what's going on right. What kind of vehicle it is in that size vehicle $ 30, 000 I think we are the only one offering we are not going the last receptor. Because we believe electric vehicle in the Law Center it's very difficult to survive. By the volume they have. So, we are going to the larger sector in the whole electric vehicle market which is the, the sizewise, is exact the size that we're offering. Pricewise, exactly the price we're offering thirty thousand up in that sector. So, have you see Tesla then as being a NAB luxury sector and To that extent, I mean how much do you see them as a competitor with you? Well, if they continue going down to market. We'll gonna be coming head to head competition. At this moment, not yet. I understand their strategy in the US. When you start a company you need to do a lots of friends, a halo cop to attract the people's. [ INAUDIBLE ] Eyeballs, and then you start doing the Model 3 and Model Y which is Model I probably the same sector we are in right now. [ INAUDIBLE ]. But, my company started to escape in that marketing tool. We believe the Model S Model X was the marketing costs director may everyone knows, but in China like a Xiaomi Like how far away they actually go directly in the mass market, the largest market sector. And later on might consider the more expensive product. And but in China, you don't need to spend billions billions of dollar to do a model X, and model X like a Tesla. And then eventually, Tesla would go to model Z or model Y which is exactly the market we are competing which will make you survive and make you very profitable Do we have questions for Freeman and anyone? I think our mike wranglers are here if you look for them. While we look for questions. Talk to me a little bit about subsidies because these have really accelerated the early development of this industry. The government has been very aggressive in trying to support electric vehicles. Now, they're saying they're phasing this out. How much of an impact will that have on the industry, in general, and you, in particular? Well, first of all, we are one of the [ UNKNOWN ] company welcome this reduction of the subsidy because in the past four, five years lot of Chinese users buying the electric vehicle simply because of the subsidy, not the product itself. And then on the other hand, 2019 is a very different year. If you look the subsidy was reduced much more than what we thought. On the other hand, the ICE vehicle, the internet combustion engine car. The UO5 up UO6. So make the whole Market very very different and difficult to predict and then in if you don't have the UO5 awkward UO6 issue, we will see that most people will interesting, there's the vehicle we probably go to. The company with a product like a Debris Motor and some of our competitions focus on product. But this year was totally different to predict, right? There's so many things going on the same time. You have the subsidy reduction. But again, we are welcome. We believe Before end of 2020, the subsidy for electric vehicle will go to zero completely before the end of 2020. Exactly. Wow. So right now, I think last year, electric vehicles were something like 1. 2 million. Is that right? Last year, interesting in the western country and Chinese government, you have a different way to call it electric vehicles. Chinese way actually is much more narrow because the Chinese way you don't carry a lot of a hybrid into an electric vehicle. And then in the, I will call in the narrow definition, China so about 700 80, 000 electrical last year, and this year after a few reduction, the prediction still will be 1. 2, 1. 3 million. 1. 3 million and this isn't a market that's 20 million. The whole pattern indicates about last year 27 million, we expect about 26 million. So there's a huge room for For the electric vehicle going into Patreon com And the difference is that the overall cost of your current market is flat declining. Yeah ,>> That moment where you are projecting Your greasy it in a Patreon call. I think that would be the second year in the last 25 years continue going down for Penza mainly from the ice the house. The electric vehicles still growing quite quickly yet today the number about 30 % people quite disappointed because everyone's expecting us grows 100 % but looking at the Chinese industry, how many of them can do the 30 % growth so far this year. So we still think this is a fast growing industry, probably not school desk as fast as what we think We've got just a few seconds. You mentioned that you're going to be back in Guangzhou in a couple of weeks to make an interesting announcement here. Do you want to say anything about Yeah, thank you clean for reminding me. On November 22 in Guangzhou Auto Show, we're going to announce our second model. In the market year six, it is gonna be a very exciting car and bigger, and smarter. Yeah. And obviously, it's [ UNKNOWN ] better, again, it's a pure electric, we don't do any engine because imagine the 5G cannot run on an engine car, 5G only running on the pure electric cars. The pure electric car Very exciting. Well, we look forward to that rollout and and other things that you will accomplish yet to come. [ INAUDIBLE ], thank you so for joining us. Thank you. Thank you for having me. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

How 5G Will Change The Way You Drive

Autos

How can 5G technology transform mobility and the automobile industry in particular? This long-term auto executive shares his forecasts and aspirations.