'The return of an icon': The revival of German car maker Wiesmann

Guardian Nigeria

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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]

05:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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