Ask everyone in the luxury business about what Well -Held Chinese customers require, and the answer is almost unanimously pointed to technology. But Bentley’s CEO, Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser has just claimed that Digital will never be luxurious.
“It may be expensive, but not luxury,” Walliser told Newsweek and continued to state that there will always be a need for good craftsmanship.
While many modern luxury brands agree, there has been a huge shift in what the next generation of wealthy individuals wants, with Istituto Marangoni, a leading private school for fashion, art and design that claims China will make up 25% of the global personal luxury goods by 2030.
Gen Z and Millennials, accounting for 70% of luxury costs, look more against advanced AI assistants, immersive virtual reality and the latest innovations in technology, rather than obvious views of wealth.
Walliser does not deny the need to embrace new and new technologies as the company is intended to launch its first dedicated EV next year. But he continues to say in his Newsweek interview that luxury is linked to material and craftsmanship, such as art.
“Digital art is not so successful. I would not say that it is not found, but is it the breakthrough? No, it is not,” he continues to explain.
Bentley has recently doubled on his efforts to deliver handmade and highly tailored vehicles to those who are willing to pay for it.
For example, a recent ‘Ombre of Muller’ gradient paint finish is said to take 56 hours of craftsmanship to deliver and cost about £ 50,000 / $ 67,000 / AU $ 105,000, according to a Carwow configurator.
Similarly, its One Plus One Batur-Convertible has an inside hand-colored by Bentley’s Muller department with contrasting driver and front passenger seats, complete with a tailor-made, two-piece luggage at the customer’s request.
As a result, three out of four Bentley’s Bentley’s crew HQ with tailor -made muller content leaves. More than ever, according to Newsweek.
Analysis: To ignore digital is dangerous
While the luxury car manufacturers continue to lean strongly on their brand history and traditional production methods, the market has seen a significant downturn in China, which was once considered an important source of sales for them like Rolls-Royce, Bentley and more.
There have been changes in luxury taxes and financial uncertainty that will have affected the trade, but the boom in the EV industry has also opened a significant technological gap between East and West.
In addition, younger generations across the globe are increasingly looking for the latest digital features, progress in AI and automated driving technology as central reasons for making a purchase.
For example, Xiaomi sold more than 135,000 SU7 models in China last year, despite being its debut EV, while Porsche managed to change only 56,887 units of all its models in the same timeframe.
In fact, most of the major German luxury brands in China are fighting precisely for this reason. Although it is still to see if Xiaomi, Yangwang and more will make an impact beyond their domestic market.
Despite the fact that ultra-luxurious brands tend to feel the economic effects to a lesser extent, navigating the digital world remains a difficult task as they do not want to lose their identity but also want to avoid alienating new buyers thanks to a lack of technology.
Aston Martin’s recent mating with Apple CarPlay Ultra is an excellent example of this as the software turned out to be excellent and undoubtedly what CarPlay users have required for years, but the masses of apple-controlled screens also made the vehicle feel less special.
