“My philosophy and understanding has always been this: if you do not go beyond the car in a specific way, it will not be a complete story,” he said. “[Our] electric car is not just an electric car.”

BeyonCa’s smart EV will not only monitor the driver’s health condition, but it will also automatically intervene by slowing down or stopping the car at an emergency lane when that person encounters symptoms of cardiovascular disease, a stroke or driving fatigue.

Such emergencies will trigger the BeyonCa healthcare service to virtually get on site a medical doctor, who will appear on screen via the car’s infotainment system to observe the driver and give advice on what to do next.

Soh did not provide estimates on the price range of BeyonCa’s EVs in the pipeline, but indicated that the carmaker would focus on big sedans and sports utility vehicles.

BYD-Mercedes EV venture receives 30,000 orders for first model in China

“Electric car penetration [in China] this year is already more than the one we had earlier forecast, despite how the economy is running,” Soh said.

EV penetration rate in China’s luxury car segment is likely to jump to 45 per cent in 2025 and surge to 75 per cent by 2030, according to a report by global consultancy McKinsey.

In 2021, only 5 per cent of the 9.56 million vehicles priced above 500,000 yuan (US$68,942) in China were powered by batteries, the report said. At present, EV deliveries represent about 30 per cent of China’s total vehicle sales.

BMW to invest additional US$1.4bn in Shenyang battery factory: report

At present, BMW’s traditional internal combustion engine 7-series cars starts from 828,000 yuan, while the basic edition of Audi’s A8 petrol car sells for 829,800 yuan.

“Affluent customers in China will be interested to look at BeyonCa’s production vehicles because of its founder,” said Chen Jinzhu, chief executive of Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service.

Soh had previously served at Volkswagen’s China operations for 16 years since 2005, following stints at Mitsubishi Motors China and Daimler-Benz Northeast Asia. In 2021, Soh became chairman and chief executive of Renault’s China operations, where he still works.

VW to invest US$2.3 billion in Chinese tech venture with Horizon Robotics

“Soh’s success in helping VW maintain the crown of bestselling car brand in China has heightened hopes for better value-for-money products from his own start-up,” Chen said.

After the launch of BeyonCa’s first production vehicles in China, Soh said his company will also sell its cars in the international market.

Dirk van Braeckel, who has 40 years of automotive design experience and was behind various models for VW, now serves as chief design officer at BeyonCa.