— What new Livan cars will appear in the near future?
— We plan to introduce two more models next year. This is an electric car and a model with a gasoline engine. Still thinking, no name. All of these are in the plans for now.
— Will these be crossovers or sedans? Which body type?
— Most likely it will be a crossover, because in the Russian market buyers mostly prefer crossovers. We will evaluate crossover supply in relation to both models.
— In China, Lebanon is still known as an electric car manufacturer, but do you have plans to produce and supply hybrid cars?
— Livan does not have hybrid vehicles so far, but we will consider a similar option for the Russian market. We collect feedback from consumers and may forward this suggestion to our R&D department in the future. Not yet.
— Haval, Geely and Chery companies have localized production to some extent in Russia or the EAEU countries. Planning to organize your own meeting in Russia?
— It is necessary to divide this question into two parts: First, sales volumes are needed for assembly, and the second is production investments. Therefore, the second question, investing in the facility, is now difficult.
— Maybe not our own factory, but contract assembly like Chery does at Avtotor?
— We are more inclined to negotiate in the parliament. We are already talking about this issue through different channels.
— Is this an expectation for 2024 or 2025?
— Depends on discussions with different potential partners. We will decide according to the results of these discussions.
— If there is an assembly, would it be interesting to mass-produce cheap cars, crossovers and electric cars like the Livan X3 Pro?
— We are focusing more on the sedan segment as there is high demand from corporate customers. In addition, the C-Class crossover category is also in high demand and we have a competitive model. We can place our bets on these two models.
— You said that there is a great demand for sedans in corporate fleets. My understanding is that there are already some agreements or negotiations are ongoing. Which companies do you want to supply these to?
— We are discussing this issue with one of our partners, a large dealer holding company. There have been many rounds of discussions on this issue before.
— Are the buyers large private owners or government agencies?
– Dealer companies.
— What role does the Russian market currently play for Lebanon in terms of export volumes? Maybe you have an idea of how important this will be for Lebanon in the future?
— We describe Russia as a strategic market for Lebanon in terms of exports. It is very difficult to predict shares because we are currently developing very actively in the Middle East region. There is also South America.
— Dealers complain that Chinese automakers are signing them into temporary contracts to sell cars. How are you doing on this right now?
— We believe that we have a chance to work for a long time in Russia, which is why all our dealer contracts are signed for three years. There are no short contracts.
— Will you have a rating for bonuses for dealers? Relatively speaking, good dealers get good bonuses, while slow ones get less.
— Although Livan is a new brand for the Russian market, we are just developing our dealer network. To be fair, it is not right to immediately divide dealer networks into different categories. Therefore, now we are just laying the foundations for future sales, strategic results are accumulating, we are raising all standards. Yes, one day we will divide the dealer network into different categories.
— So will there be a rating in the style of dealers in categories A, B, C and D?
– Later, yes. This is the standard, we will not avoid it.