"Our Vision is to go Beyond the car" - Weiming Soh, Chairman and Founder of China's BeyonCa

In October, 2022, the Chinese premium smart EV maker BeyonCa announced its arrival on the world stage by lifting the covers off the BeyonCa GT Opus 1. Backed by the Dongfeng Group, this new-age company is all set to define the super-premium smart EV segment. It even has its own team of 'cloud doctors'.

To find out more, Auto Futures spoke to Founder and Chairman of BeyonCa, Weiming Soh.

“Our vision is to go beyond the car. My team and I set out to build mobility solutions that deliver unique experiences for users. Our plan is to unveil BeyonCa’s first model next spring,” says Soh.

“BeyonCa aims to offer users meaningful products with an integrated super-premium user experience so users can enjoy the real value of services in the car, around the car, and beyond the car,” he explains.

When asked if there was a story behind choosing the name BeyonCa, Soh says: “When we are entrepreneurs, we must do things that matter most to people and their families, and consistently bring long-term values to society and our users. This is why we named the company BeyonCa – it simply stands for ‘Beyond the Car’.”

The BeyonCa GT Opus 1 exemplifies the personality of a next generation super premium EV. And it comes as no surprise, since this car was created by BeyonCa’s star-studded line-up of award-winning automotive professionals, who have decades of experience creating super premium and luxury cars for the likes of Audi and Bentley.

With the GT Opus 1, BeyonCa is targeting customers who are used to the style and quality found in super premium cars like the BMW Series 7, Mercedes-Benz S class, Audi A8.

One look at the GT Opus 1, and everything about its sleek and suave exterior screams next generation and uber premium. In fact, the team has taken special care for the exterior to match the interior design, which features a bigger and relaxing space, elegance, and emotional dynamism.

"The result of our team's work is the perfect combination of design, craftsmanship, comfort, sportiness, and an amazing experience," says Soh.

The Cloud Doctor Will See You Now...

On the inside, GT Opus 1 is supported by an AI-based smart cockpit that monitors the user's health status in real time. It also features the world's first in-cabin cloud doctor service. However, the price range of this car is still unknown, and is expected to be released with the product launch.

When asked about what sets apart the GT Opus 1 from other cars in this space, Soh stressed on the part about the car’s exterior and interior design. He was also quick to mention that BeyonCa GT uses natural and sustainable materials for interior, such as premium leather and wood with different colour options. Then, there is the obvious angle – Health as a Service (HaaS). BeyonCa positions health as 'the new luxury'.

“Health is both the bottom line for safety and the new pursuit of the times, and BeyonCa believes that in this new era health is essential. And this is the true meaning of luxury. A true luxury car should even be able to save lives,” says Soh.

Beyonca is probably the only automotive manufacturer appoint an in-house Chief Health Officer. Dr.Tim Guo is a cardiovascular specialist with over 27 years' experience at numerous international hospital groups, He supervisea a team of 'cloud doctors and studies use cases to benefit future car users. 

“One important thing is we don't see 'smart' as just adding more processors, sensors or cameras. Everything we do needs to add to the experience of the driver and the passengers. Health is just one part of the equation. We aim to use smart technologies, including autonomous driving, to exceed the expectations of our users with regards to health and safety,” explains Soh. 

As the automotive industry gets more and more technology-driven with each passing day, now more than ever before, the spotlight is now on what technological enhancements does every new car released have to offer.

"The 'smart' part is incredibly important in defining the super-premium EV space. Our philosophy is that technologies are here to serve a purpose, but should not be the purpose itself. Rather, we will consolidate and integrate advanced technologies, and shift from function-driven to scenario-driven methodology."

“We believe deep scenario-driven car making is BeyonCa’s unique path. This path captures the art of car making and the technologies to transform cars and services into a synergistic whole,” he adds.

Soh offers up an example of this philosophy, “One concrete use case scenario to demonstrate how technologies serve the purpose of being our users’ personal health guardian. During the driving and riding process, BeyonCa vehicles are equipped with unique sensors to perform continuous and comprehensive monitoring of our users’ health status. The AI engine in the car keeps track of our users’ health data and detects anything out of the ordinary, such as cardio issues. If there is an abnormality, our AI-powered user interface will initiate a dialog to make sure the user is OK."

When necessary, the AI engine will summon a 'cloud doctor', a real medical doctor, to provide the much-needed professional medical advice. When this takes place, the AI engine will trigger the autonomous driving function to take control and shepherd the user to safety.

"In this deep use case scenario, BeyonCa seamlessly integrates multiple technologies and while in-cabin sensors provide the most accurate and comprehensive health tracking capability, the AI engine acts as the users’ personal health guardian and makes critical decisions. The cloud doctor can step in and is able to make medical decisions with expert analyses of the comprehensive health data. Autonomous driving is then ready to bring the user to safety.”

Synergy With Investors

While its roots are firmly in China, BeyonCa is a global company at heart. It has offices in five cities across three countries including three R&D offices in China - Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan, a design centre in Munich and a Singapore office which will become a R&D hub.

Its Chief Design Officer is Dirk van Braeckel, an award-winning designer, who has worked at the likes of Audi and Bentley.

"We believe global cooperation is the foundation for any company to ensure its success. That’s why BeyonCa utilises the best resources to make super premium smart cars and surrounding services, including China’s EV value chain, software and technology talents, Germany’s know-how accumulated more than a century in designing and tuning premium cars,” says Soh.

Being a fairly new entrant in the EV space, it would be interesting to know the kind of challenges that BeyonCa has had to face. To this, Soh replied that the challenges the company faces are much like other startups. The one that he specifically mentioned was to attract like-minded partners for investment to continue the company’s progress. But, unlike many other mobility companies, BeyonCa has the opportunity to call a legacy automaker like the Dongfeng Group as one of its strategic investment partners.

“BeyonCa is backed by strategic investment partners including Dongfeng and Renault. Having OEMs as investors is a perfect match,” says Soh. “We think about investment differently. Instead of focusing on the investment amount, we think very hard about the synergy with the investor.”

2024 And Beyond

BeyonCa is committed to being a true global company, which furthers global resource optimisation from the R&D labour force and design strengths to the EV supply chain and charging infrastructure network. The company plans to bring its cars to multiple overseas markets, including ASEAN, Middle East, and selected countries in Europe.

“BeyonCa will not produce cars in volume, we have an eye on the super premium segment. Selling 100,000 units of cars per year is the direction BeyonCa is heading towards in 3 to 5 years,” says Soh.

“BeyonCa expects to roll out its first mass-produced car model in 2024, just as projected demand for premium smart EVs starts rising rapidly both in Asia and globally. Our plan is to unveil BeyonCa’s first model next spring, with the first production model due to roll off the line in 2024,” he concludes.