Lantu FREE is the world’s first, the ＂change and plan＂ of the road to the advancement of its own brand

"Value for money, have faith in the price, buy without regret, use it without worry, empower life, and gain friendship." On December 18, Zhu Yanfeng, chairperson and party secretary of DONGFENG MOTOR CORPORATION (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfeng Company"), drew a product blueprint for Lantu Automobile for "new backbone" consumers.

On the same night, Lantu Automobile’s first medium and large-scale intelligent electric SUV, Lantu FREE, completed its world debut at the Shenzhen Universiade Center. This model provides multi-scenario power solutions for the new backbone in daily commuting, inter-city travel, long-distance travel and other scenarios, and will continue to bring users a zero-anxiety, warm and reliable intelligent electric experience.

From the launch of the brand strategy in Wuhan, Jiangcheng on July 29 to the launch of the world’s first mass-produced model, Lantu FREE, in Shenzhen, Pengcheng on December 18, Lantu Automobile completed the brand start-up stage of "from scratch, from 0 to 1" in 142 days, and is about to enter a new stage of market competition. Within Dongfeng, Lantu Automobile "holds the heavy responsibility of the entire Dongfeng brand upward, conveys the courage of Dongfeng soaring", and aspires to "become a leader in high-end new energy passenger vehicles in China".

LANTU FREE will announce the specific price information before the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. The price will not be higher than 400,000 yuan. The extended range electric version and the pure electric version will be listed simultaneously, and it is planned to be delivered to users in the third quarter of 2021. In terms of sales channels, online reservation numbers have been opened. LANTU Auto will adopt a fully direct channel model and set up LANTU experience centers in the core business districts of key cities. According to the plan, the company will establish 40 direct experience stores across the country in 2021.

"The global launch of Lantu FREE marks another solid step for Lantu Automobile to enter the market and serve customers." Zhu Yanfeng said that Dongfeng will use the group’s strength to firmly support the development of Lantu Automobile in terms of strategy, technology, talent and capital with strong system capabilities and high-quality resources, and will build Lantu into a leader in China’s high-end new energy passenger vehicles, promoting excellent Dongfeng and world-class enterprise construction.

Speed up your run and fight the high-end market

At the press conference, a light blue Landu FREE slowly drove towards the middle of the stage, which immediately attracted bursts of applause from the scene.

This is the first large and medium-sized smart electric SUV from Lantu to be unveiled to the world in Shenzhen for the first time since it was officially pre-produced in Wuhan on November 25.

It is understood that from the official release of the brand strategy on July 29 to the launch of the first body-in-white on November 6, and then to the pre-production launch on November 25, it took only more than 100 days for Lantu Automobile, and the mass production landing speed set a record for the industry. According to the plan, Lantu Automobile will launch no less than one new car to the market every year from 2021. In the next 3 to 5 years, the products will cover multiple market segments such as cars, SUVs and MPVs, and continue to provide users with electric vehicle solutions.

Lu Fang, CEO of Lantu Automobile, said that the reason why Lantu FREE was launched in Shenzhen is because "the urban character of Shenzhen is highly compatible with the brand character of Lantu". Shenzhen is a fertile soil for creating miracles and realizing dreams. It is a batch of new backbone that creates Shenzhen speed. Innovation and vitality allow people to ignite dreams and make blueprints come true one by one.

The target customer portrait of Landmap FREE is also the new backbone of the city. In order to meet the needs of users in urban commuting, inter-city travel, long-distance travel and other scenarios, Landmap FREE takes electric drive as the core and provides users with two options of pure electric and extended range electric, which is suitable for distant cities in Yicheng. Among them, the pure electric version of NEDC has a cruising range of 500 kilometers, while the extended electric version adopts "1.5T + four-cylinder" extended range technology, with a comprehensive cruising range of 860 kilometers, which is currently the longest cruising range of similar models.

Lu Fang said that as a zero-anxiety medium and large-scale intelligent electric SUV, Lantu FREE combines five advantages: long cruising range, excellent power performance, advanced range-extended electric technology, intelligent technology, and many luxury and comfortable configurations, and will be committed to meeting users’ zero-anxiety, warm, and safe intelligent electric travel experience.

According to Lei Xin, the chief brand officer of Lantu Automobile, Lantu FREE has now fully opened the reservation, the sales price does not exceed 400,000 yuan, and will be delivered to users in the third quarter of 2021.

It is worth noting that, as a joint stock company of Dongfeng Motor Group (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfeng Group", 00489.HK) to promote the brand upward and enhance the competitiveness of its own brands, Lantu Automobile is the company’s response to the demand for high-end products in the new energy vehicle market.

"Standing at the beginning of the new energy 3.0 era, Lantu Automobile is committed to providing a series of anxiety-free products and services for China’s new backbone." The person in charge of Lantu Automobile said that the launch of Lantu FREE marks another solid step for Lantu to enter the market and serve users, and promotes Lantu Automobile to accelerate on the new energy vehicle track.

"Compared with Tesla, NIO and other brands, the company still has room for improvement in the layout and brand positioning of high-end new energy passenger vehicles." Dongfeng Group said that in the future, the company will vigorously develop its own brand of Landmap, with the positioning of high-end new energy as an entry point, opening up the upward development space of the company’s own passenger car brand, and further enhancing the company’s independent new energy passenger car market recognition.

Create and enjoy plan, invite new backbone

A piece of white paper, starting from scratch, can draw the most beautiful and best pictures. Lantu Auto will also explore the way for the development of China’s new energy industry and draw a blueprint for its own brand to achieve counterattack.

In the industry, Lantu Automobile has been positioned as "China’s new car manufacturing strength" since its birth, and the model of "mature car companies + new car manufacturing forces". Lantu Automobile will adopt a market-oriented and independent operation method, and does not belong to any subsidiary of Dongfeng Company. It has a new strategy, a new organizational mechanism, a new business model and a new team. It has achieved "China’s new car manufacturing strength" with the advantages of "four new", bringing users a truly zero-anxiety smart electric experience.

In terms of product and brand building, Lantu Auto will also join hands with new backbones to create and share a beautiful travel blueprint through high-quality products and services. On the launch night of Lantu FREE, 7 new backbones representatives from education, medical care, technology and other industries jointly launched the "Innovation and Enjoy Plan" as Lantu Auto "Innovation and Enjoy Officers".

According to the plan, Lantu Automobile will invite more customers engagement in the process of model development, testing, production and service, to help products and services iterate rapidly to better meet user needs. At the same time, Lantu Automobile will build a platform for resource sharing, create an interactive community, and ultimately realize two-way empowering and common growth with customers.

Zhu Yanfeng said that as a high-end new energy vehicle brand of Dongfeng, Lantu FREE not only inherits the "quality, wisdom and joy" Dongfeng brand value concept, but also adheres to the "light, quiet and elegant" brand style, and strives to meet the spiritual pursuit of freedom, continuous exploration and upward breakthrough of the new backbone.

In fact, as the CEO of the company, Lu Fang is also a creative partner of Lantu Auto, and is the second "consumer" in the country to book a Lantu FREE model.

Focusing on the needs of the whole life cycle of users, Lantu Auto will provide convenient, efficient and consistent zero-anxiety user experience through direct sales mode and digital platform. It is understood that Lantu Auto will adopt a fully direct sales channel mode and set up Lantu experience centers in the core business districts of key cities. At the same time, Lantu Auto will set up service centers close to the user’s living area to provide a more convenient and warm service experience.

In addition, Dongfeng Group’s return to class A shares has passed the review of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s growth enterprises market listing committee, and will soon become the fourth "A + H" share vehicle manufacturer in China. It will also provide sufficient "blood transfusion" funds for the development of the Lantu automobile brand.

According to the prospectus, Dongfeng Group plans to publicly issue no more than 957 million shares and raise 21.033 billion yuan for new brand high-end new energy passenger vehicle projects, new generation vehicles and forward-looking technology development projects and supplementary Working Funds. In the fundraising project, the total investment of Lantu brand high-end new energy vehicle projects reaches 11 billion yuan, and the proceeds raised 7 billion yuan, accounting for 33.33% of the total fundraising. proceeds raised will be mainly used in the fields of Product Research & Development, digital factory investment and marketing digitalization of Lantu Automobile.

It is understood that Lantu Automobile, which is oriented by user request and enters the market with "new strength in car building", is the product of Dongfeng Group’s deep insight into the new energy vehicle market. Under the wave of consumption upgrading, the charging environment of new energy vehicles, consumers’ driving habits, mileage anxiety caused by commuting distance, and anxiety about the service of the whole life cycle of the car are all important factors affecting the penetration rate of new energy vehicles.

In the opinion of Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Association, the future prospects of Lantu Automobile are still very broad, because the medium and large electric vehicle market is far from saturated, and the monthly sales of outstanding products such as NIO are only a few thousand. Therefore, if Lantu Automobile can create outstanding products, the future is still full of opportunities.