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00:00 Wiesmann was founded in 1988 by brothers Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann.
00:06 They debuted their first car in 1993.
00:10 But in 2013 the company filed for bankruptcy, closing its doors in 2014.
00:16 Two years later, Wiesmann was acquired by Contech Global under the direction of Rohin and Sahir Beri.
00:23 Since the purchase of the company, Wiesmann hasn't released any new models.
00:27 The launch of Project Thunderball being Wiesmann's re-entry into the market.
00:32 I spoke with Jessica Binns, the CMO of Wiesmann, to find out more.
00:37 Jess, what do you think Project Thunderball means for the Wiesmann brand?
00:41 It's the return of an icon essentially because it is the start of a new era for us.
00:46 Not only from an electrification perspective because obviously for many, many years the car has been a combustion car.
00:52 But also it's new ownership so that's always an exciting time for the two brothers, the two new brothers,
00:58 to now put their own stamp on what they feel Wiesmann needs to present to the world.
01:02 But the electrification has been a real interesting challenge for us in terms of
01:06 how do we retain the essence and the DNA of a Wiesmann brand and a Wiesmann feel in an electric car.
01:14 It is a luxury brand with a high price point.
01:17 In the current economic climate with the cost of living and inflation, are you worried?
01:24 We're not worried and that's because Wiesmann is a classic and timeless brand.
01:30 So actually it retains its value unlike other cars that very quickly lose their value.
01:35 Actually Wiesmanns only go up in price so it's almost like an investment piece.
01:39 So when we talk to customers they're often talking about buying a Wiesmann as an investment
01:44 as they would a piece of art or a piece of jewellery.
01:47 So it's a very different purchase strategy to just buying a supercar let's say.
01:52 And we're priced in a good bracket.
01:55 It's not the high supercar luxury in the millions.
01:59 It's not the Tesla mark.
02:01 So we're in a really interesting space but really it's an investment piece and it'll hold its value.
02:06 Why is it a unique brand?
02:08 It's unique because even from the look of it, it doesn't look like a typical sports car in a sense.
02:15 It's timeless, it's elegant, it stands apart essentially.
02:19 And there's a real emotion, there's a story to Wiesmann.
02:22 When you come to the factory this is a big part of the customer experience and the journey.
02:27 So customers really come here to co-create.
02:30 So they come to make their dreams come true.
02:32 So they discuss with the team what they like, what they don't like and everything is handmade.
02:37 So it's almost like creating your couture dress.
02:39 You come for your fittings, you come in and out.
02:41 We're very open and that's quite unconventional in the automotive category.
02:46 So that experience is really true to the brand.
02:49 And it's a family.
02:51 We are not producing tens of thousands of cars.
02:54 So we know all our customers, our existing customers.
02:57 We all know individually, we talk to them regularly.
03:00 And we hope to retain that with our next generation of customers.
03:05 Veen, I just want to take you back to the time when you bought this company.
03:09 Why did you think you could turn it around?
03:12 I've always done things that people have told me that are very difficult, very disruptive.
03:19 But also always positively affecting.
03:22 And I saw this and I said I can do this.
03:26 And I felt like the world needed to see this brand.
03:29 It stands for a lot more than just cars.
03:32 And that was one of the reasons why I got into it.
03:35 And everybody has supported me out here.
03:37 And Wiesmann of course is very well known here in Germany.
03:41 What's your strategy to take it worldwide?
03:45 And what markets do you want to go into?
03:47 I'd like to take it anywhere people want it.
03:51 Asia is becoming obviously a very, very important market for us.
03:55 The United States has greeted it with, I'd say 25% of our orders
04:01 are coming from the United States without us ever being there or marketing it.
04:05 So people do like it.
04:07 Of course, Germany is the home country.
04:09 I would very much like it to be successful in England, in the UK.
04:13 It looks like a British roadster and it would be fantastic for it to do well there.
04:18 Who is the Project Thunderbolt customer?
04:21 If you look at quite a few of the new cars coming up in the luxury space,
04:25 we're actually almost amongst the cheapest.
04:28 A lot of the other cars coming out now in the next year are a lot more expensive.
04:34 The old Wiesmann customer was very much a German customer.
04:39 Today I would like to appeal to women.
04:41 I would like to appeal to a younger audience.
04:43 I'd like to appeal to a little bit more of an environmentally friendly audience,
04:49 but also people who want to lead by example and say,
04:53 "You know what? I am going down the electric path and I'm going to do it with some style."
04:57 And from the contact point of view, are you willing to take losses to get to where you want to be?
05:05 I think for the last few years I've demonstrated that.
05:07 We've been taking immense losses in order to build what we have.
05:12 And without taking losses and learning from your mistakes,
05:16 you can't really build something beautiful.
05:19 And I won't say perfect, but very close to perfect.
05:22 Would you say that this is the comeback for Wiesmann?
05:25 This is going to put them back on the map?
05:27 100%. I would like to see this as one of the most successful car companies in the world,
05:32 especially in our price point and with the numbers of cars that we're achieving.
05:36 [Music]
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