On August 25, the 2023 Chengdu International Auto Show officially opened. China’s first open-top electric sports car, the MG Cyberster, appeared at the SAIC MG booth, completing the domestic debut of this pure electric sports car and becoming the focus of the entire booth. During the media day of this auto show, Mr. Shao Jingfeng, Chief Designer of SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute and General Manager of SAIC UK Technical Center, and Mr. Lu Jiajun, General Manager of SAIC Passenger Cars MG Brand Division, accepted exclusive interviews with the media and discussed the development of MG Cyberster. The launch plan and the future plans of the SAIC MG brand were shared with the media. The following is the transcript of the interview:
Media: Mr. Lu, could you please tell us when the MG Cyberster will be launched, as well as the specific price range and market positioning?
Lu Jiajun: This car started as a concept car made by the global design team led by Mr. Shao. After some twists and turns during the epidemic in the past two years, the engineering team and manufacturing team have overcome many problems that occurred in the process. So it can be said clearly that this car will be launched within this year and is expected to be launched in Q4, and it can be delivered to users as soon as it is launched.
This car is a completely new category and species. Not only in China, but even in the world, there is no one that is exactly the same or similar to it. It is a combination of pure electric, electric scissor doors and soft top convertible. This kind of car, which is completely built on a sports car platform, does not have many comparisons in China at this stage. It is difficult to say who its competitors are. Previously, the British media compared it with the Porsche 718 and BMW Z4, which have similar body shapes. In comparison, in the UK, the estimated selling price is more than 55,000 pounds; in China, we will evaluate and consider the situation of the user group as a whole.
In general, this is a completely new species, and we have put a lot of effort into it. We want to strive to launch and deliver it as soon as possible in early Q4.
"Mr. Lu Jiajun, General Manager of SAIC Passenger Car MG Brand Business Unit"
Media: At the booth press conference in the morning, you said that the MG Cyberster is the spiritual sequel to the legendary sports car MGB. How does this car inherit the MGB? In addition, in terms of design features, you emphasized that it is extremely romantic. How many points can you single out to say how romantic it is?
Shao Jingfeng: In the brand’s century-old history, MGB is a representative of legend and classic, and the brand spirit it carries has always inspired us. To allow Chinese consumers to realize their sports car dreams faster, on the one hand, they need to optimize the size of the vehicle and control the cost and price within reach.Within the range that can be tolerated; on the other hand, we cannot pursue a battery that is too large, so as to achieve a lightweight body. Therefore, the direct inspiration brought by MGB is a two-door, two-seater, convertible sports car. I also considered a hardtop, but after repeated consideration, I decided to go with a convertible, because we have never touched this blue ocean. In the past, we have only seen convertible sports cars in movies. For some ordinary Chinese consumers, it is impossible to get close to it. It's a luxury.
Because Chinese users have a lot of feelings about convertibles. These feelings are based on work situation, family situation, social environment, etc., so that you dare not touch it. However, the spirit advocated by MGB is the same as that of the Ford Mustang. They are consistent with the spirit advocated by the American Dream, but Chinese consumers have not come across convertible sports cars in the field of electrification. A convertible can be made with a hard iron top, and it is cheaper. The soft top mechanism is complicated, and we are also worried about water leakage. But if a hard top is added, I believe female consumers will not be so interested. It is just like the "cannon" held by photographers. It was an exclusive "toy" for men in the mechanical age; but now, in the era of digital cameras, women can also play photography because (the equipment) has become lighter. This is an era of replace. Therefore, electric sports cars directly replace the technical performance of millions of sports cars.
In addition, convertibles attract only old boys, big boys and female consumers. If you look at today's booth, there are a lot of female consumers. Therefore, in the future, the romantic spirit advocated by MGB around the world should be able to be reproduced through the new MG Cyberster. Chinese consumers should dare to let go of their complexes and touch a little romance, especially by purchasing this model. Come experience romance.
"Mr. Shao Jingfeng, Chief Designer of SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute and General Manager of SAIC UK Technology Center"
Media: As a designer, your dream is to find a sports car that will make this brand glorious again, because this brand started with sports cars. The rational words mentioned just now, such as scissor doors and how fast the zero-to-hundred acceleration is, are not important to me. I just think it is so beautiful and I want to place an order.
Everyone gives a thumbs up to the exterior design of this car. In terms of the future, what effect will such a personalized, niche and emotional model have on the strategic goals of the MG brand or SAIC? Is it to reawaken the brand, or to use it to lead other models?
In addition, talking about the MG4 EV, some media just said that this car sells for 250,000 in the UK. The price of this car in the UK is nearly double that in China. At the same time, this carThe sales volume of this car is also very good in the European market. Today, the MG4 EV has been named globally. What are the hopes for the future of the MG4 EV? What inspirations and lessons can the successful experience in Europe bring to China?
Shao Jingfeng: The MG brand started as a sports car. In the UK, it brought the technology and experience of supercars to most car fans, making it a national treasure sports car in the UK. Looking around the world, MG's sports cars at that time were also popular around the world. There is a love Hong Kong movie. As soon as the plane passes by, an MGB car logo appears in the shot. This shot is still fresh in my memory.
We really want to let all people drive sports cars, but this process still needs to be done step by step. We saw that when young foreign consumers purchased sports cars, they displayed a spirit and a product of an era, such as the Ford Mustang to the American dream. Looking at it now, we have predicted very early that the pressure on Chinese consumers is extremely high, and there is an extremely lack of carriers that can release their own instincts. The emotional products provided on the market are not in place, especially in the era of electrification. The cost challenge faced by everyone is relatively large, and rationality extremely prevails at this time.
It was the same when we proposed the Cyberster. It took a long time to recommend this car to the management, and everyone was very cautious. But in the end, I was able to impress them and get the management to approve this car. I think this is also a very remarkable thing about a large enterprise that dares to make breakthrough decisions.
You just asked about the brand. Let me give you an example. The MG brand is expected to sell 800,000 units this year. The sales volume of MG4 EV has suddenly increased all over the world, especially in Europe. Our designers became more confident after seeing it. If MG4 EV is rolled out in large quantities around the world, coupled with MG7 and MG Cyberster, I believe this wave will bring MG (brand) ) The upward attack should be effective. We should seize this opportunity of electrification. For the MG brand, we must decisively be the pioneer who dares to take risks and move up step by step. MG7 will sell well, MG4 EV will sell well all over the world, and MG Cyberster will sell even better. When this wave starts, opportunities will come. Coming.
Lu Jiajun: MG Cyberster, including a series of products that may be derived later, has created a very independent and personalized proposition for the brand. We are not only pursuing dreams, but also realizing dreams.
MG4 EV is China’s electric vehicle sales champion in the entire European market. It is also the best-selling Chinese electric vehicle in Europe from January to July this year and the number one compact pure electric vehicle in Europe. This time we have unified the global naming, and we also hope to use the strategic deployment of brand globalization to promote the advancement of various models. MG7 currently occupies a place in the field of sports B-class sedans in the field of traditional gasoline vehicles in China. When local dealers in Turkey and Europe saw our cars, they also took the initiative to ask us to bring the cars to their countries for sales. It can be seen that the Chinese market and overseas haveGreat interaction. The MG Cyberster will be launched in China first and should be available in the UK in April or May next year.
Media: In terms of the romantic appearance and performance mentioned just now, Cyberster is in perfect condition. Regarding the positioning of this car, do you prefer it to be a romantic and comfortable sports car or a performance-oriented sports car?
Lu Jiajun: This car is a new species and a new category. It is precisely because of its pure electric architecture and this body shape that it can achieve a balance between lifestyle and performance.
In terms of performance, its entire motor system and performance architecture can easily achieve the acceleration, cornering control, and chassis rigidity required by previous mechanical sports cars, and have reached the performance requirements of the supercar era.
As a pure electric sports car, taking into account the needs of different users, its electronic control system, scissor doors, and convertible will provide three scene mode choices. We will later select users to conduct relevant tests, such as the female user mode, where the throttle response is slowed down to improve comfort. This is the effect of intelligence under the pure electric architecture. Users can also choose the leisure mode to experience the sea breeze and unlimited living conditions.
In addition, its three-electric system can ensure that the requirements for mechanical performance are shielded, and it can even simulate sound waves. When people sit in the car, they can feel a roar in their ears. I just talked with the person in charge of the BOSE audio system that they can make the sound environment in the car better through adjustments. When playing music, users can get an immersive listening experience.
This car is not only about pursuing lifestyle, nor is it about pursuing performance and driving control. This car is built for a group of people who pursue their dreams and dare to realize them, regardless of gender or age.
Media: I saw the MG4 EV at the booth today. Since its launch, this car has sold very well overseas, especially in the European market. So what is the reason why MG has unified the global name for this product this time? What does the name itself mean? Is there any new signal from MG in terms of strategy?
Lu Jiajun: In 2022, MG’s global sales will be 660,000, and this year it is estimated to be 800,000. 2024 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the MG brand, and we will make every effort to achieve the global annual sales target of one million. Based on this background, we need to formulate a product spectrum and have a unified naming system standard, so as to have better brand recognition and memory. This is our strategic thinking for global unified naming. Secondly, this year we are the first to launch the 100th anniversary celebration of the MG brand. A big reason is that the "global car" MG4 EV represents the entire MG brand entering the new century and will be fully committed to breakthroughs in the new electrification track. , also implies the strategic direction of electrification of the MG brand.
Media: I attended a SAIC meeting some time ago and saw that SAIC’s technology is gradually empowering various platforms of its brands. I would like to know what the follow-up plans are for the MG brand?
Lu Jiajun: MG is a brand of SAIC Motor. It is an international automobile brand controlled by the Chinese themselves. The technology of the entire group is also shared. Each brand has its own strategic goals and positioning. Our subsequent planning directions are the two paths of "globalization" and "high value", and we will steadily advance in new energy.
With the help and support of Mr. Shao’s team, and combined with the thinking of global users, we applied technology and design that fit the tonality and characteristics of the MG brand into our products. These tasks are carried out simultaneously and will be advanced in stages at the appropriate time.
Shao Jingfeng: When we are developing a product for both the Chinese market and the global market, technical background is very important. What we are now counterattacking is entering the strongest automobile market in 100 years, that is, the European continent. The reason why we can enter the European base camp and compete with European brands is because of the leading technology of SAIC.
With the support of technology, MG4 EV has attracted much attention in Europe. Although European consumers are extremely picky, the MG4 EV still sells very well. In addition to the appearance of this car, more importantly, it has the heritage behind it. We are confident that we can provide the same high-quality automotive products to global users under the most stringent standards in the world, which is an advantage that many car companies do not have.
In addition, MG is really a golden baby and has a wide fan base around the world. They will be in awe after the test drive experience, because they will find that this brand has taken on new vitality under the control of China.
Of course, MG also has a smart side, including leading three-electric technology, excellent chassis tuning, safety protection that meets global five-star standards, etc. I hope the media can pay more attention to it.
Media: If this electric convertible sports car runs smoothly, how much mileage is expected? This car is very beautifully designed, very individual and very original, especially in the sports car category. What are your commercial considerations? We know that it took a long time from the project establishment to the actual launch of this car. What is its mission? Does it just play some role in promoting the brand?
Shao Jingfeng: From a social perspective, China has two types of people: rational and emotional. When buying a car now, the emotional people are suppressed by the rational people. Since the era when Volkswagen and Toyota controlled the domestic and global markets, Chinese users have been rational and suppressed the emotional, because they have too many concerns when buying a car. At this time, run A large number of car models are almost all based on rationality (thinking). But with the rapid development of society, especially in the electric era, I personally feel that Chinese car manufacturers have accomplished several things that were unimaginable in the past.
The first is to change lanes and overtake the engine and traditional powertrain. To be honest, we don’t have the confidence to make a gasoline sports car with a pure engine, because if the engine cannot achieve the same performance, the size we have to make will be too large. If the size is made smaller and installed in a sports car, the performance may not be as good as others. The process is tooDifficult. However, everything changed after entering the era of electric vehicles. In terms of performance, electric drive performance far exceeds the performance of gasoline vehicles in the mechanical era. This change brings huge opportunities. Facing opportunities, the Chinese market is developing very fast, and the 100-year product iteration cycle may be completed in 10 years. Now we develop models very quickly.
The teacher just said that what we make is a beautiful car and a personalized car. I only agree with part of it. The reason why everyone thinks this sports car is a very unique car is mainly because there are very few people who own sports cars. However, from the perspective of a sports car, the design of this car is very classic, not alternative. For example, everyone remembers that the waistline is only found in British sports cars. If it is straightened out, it will become a German sports car. In fact, only British sports cars have a double arch, which is a British romance. British sports cars are different from German sports cars and French sports cars. Only British sports cars have a royal flavor. For example, British suits emphasize waist-cinching, and you will find that this sports car also has waist-cinching. This sports car represents classics and rebirth, the rebirth of classics in a new era.
Lu Jiajun: The MG Cyberster car has actually been pre-sold in the UK, and many people have started to place orders. We all know that Britain has a sports car culture, and people live in a relatively prosperous life. £55,000 to £60,000 is equivalent to half a year's salary of the middle class. Not only in the UK, the car has also been well received in Thailand's two-door, two-seater roadster market. This car was just released today, and the overseas team said that there is a large-scale auto show in Vietnam and they want to borrow three cars to display there. So in terms of mileage, with such a good car, we can definitely lead the open-top electric sports car market in China.
Chinese people are too rational, including us who make cars, but I believe that this sports car is a dream that we and the emotional and pursuing people in China want to realize together. I believe that this new field in China has great potential growth opportunities, adding more "assets" to the lives of those of us who are uncompromising and don't want to follow the crowd, rather than just buying a sports car.
Media: As mentioned earlier, this car has many innovations, so it must have encountered many design difficulties during the development process. Can you elaborate on the difficulties and persistence.
Shao Jingfeng: This car is the only electric sports car in the world with a convertible soft top and scissor doors.
First of all, the process of developing this sports car has been full of ups and downs, with highs and pains, and also the highlight moment, which was when we just launched it. We also had multiple considerations for the mission of this vehicle. First, we hope to go on the offensive and aim at the upward positioning of MG7. Second, target the global sales of MG4. Third, the uniqueness, scarcity, bold innovation and breakthrough of MG Cyberster will promote the overall upward development of the MG brand. There are a lot of things to convert in these quantities, which also means that the pricing has not yet been determined.
MG Cyberster project initiatedThere were many difficulties in the end. The first was facing inquiries from media teachers. To whom? Have Chinese consumers opened their minds? Because we focus on convertibles, convertibles require users to open their hearts. At that time, Chinese young people were generally relatively repressed, so we needed them to open their hearts and let themselves go, and develop a bold and adventurous lifestyle. And the romance in my words is also a lifestyle. In the past, we always regarded cars as tools and status labels, but we did not invest enough in our lives. Therefore, as a pioneer, we will launch it first, change the consumption of cars on a perceptual level, and bring about some changes in the market. We hope to provide more choices for female consumers, emotional consumers, including old boys, and consumers with financial strength.
The biggest difficulty in the development process is the combination of scissor doors + soft top.
First, soft tops tend to leak. On the second day of the Shanghai Auto Show press conference, we conducted a media test drive in a dynamic small experience venue. Although it rained heavily during the test drive, the car did not drip rain during the whole process and completely withstood the intensity of the heavy rain. I am actually confident because our car has been tested in rain. Everyone should know that the intensity of the rain test is much higher than any heavy rain we have seen.
Secondly, a big problem caused by scissor doors is whether the opening method is smooth, because its hinge is extremely complex, and if it is not handled well, the opening speed will be fast and slow. Also, what should I do if the scissor door hits the top and the paint is knocked off when I open it? In order to put an end to this phenomenon, we installed a lot of radars and adopted three opening methods. There are door opening buttons on the central control, inside the doors, and on the armrests to ensure the opening of the car through a variety of safety measures. This kind of electric scissor door does not require effort to drag the door when closing. It can be closed easily with three buttons.
In addition, we also explored the scene of people getting off the bus, and considered whether the posture of getting off the bus was graceful and whether the movements were beautiful. In the past, everyone's basic understanding of sports cars was to roll in and climb out. However, because the floor of our car is moderately raised, the entire process of getting in and out of the car is very comfortable, and you can get off the car gracefully. In addition, when this car is in motion, such as driving on the highway for less than 50 kilometers, the convertible can also be opened and closed while driving. The opening method is controlled by three buttons, opening the right side, opening the left side, and opening the soft top. It brings a new way of life.
We believe that electric sports cars were previously labeled as sports cars, but they have undergone a completely new transformation in the era of electrification. They are a change in lifestyle. We hope that our sports car can serve as a pioneer and make some contribution to the electric era. We are the first Chinese car designers to try to build this kind of sports car. We always insist on global release and global "marketability". This desire from the heart becomes a driving force to push our designers’ dreams forward.
I once said that the dream of sports cars is part of the Chinese dream. If a professional car designer does not design sports cars, his career is incomplete. But this is only limited to the designer’s career. In fact, from the perspective of brand, brand gene, and brand exploration,, we can find that this field is a blue ocean that can bring unlimited possibilities.
To share a set of data, China has approximately 40,000 university graduates majoring in oil painting, more than 130,000 literary and artistic workers, and many interior designers and decoration designers every year. These people are all target groups. Waiting for the emergence of MG Cyberster.
Lu Jiajun: Not only the designers, artists and other people that Mr. Shao saw, MG Cyberster also targets a wider cross-circle group of people.
Shao Jingfeng: We have always felt that in the past, automobile manufacturers may have paid too much attention to rational customer groups and ignored emotional customer groups. There are still people from Chinese automakers who will follow up. Once the Chinese take action, the world will follow suit. As far as I know, many major manufacturers in the world, such as the world's four major sports cars, are hesitant in the field of electrification. However, the Chinese dare to try and attract widespread attention, ushering in the era of electric sports cars. In other words, the world's electric trend started in China, because China has a very broad market that can make all possibilities become a reality.
Open the Bitauto App and search for "True 100,000 Kilometer Long-Term Test" to see the most authentic vehicle long-term test report.