Royce Hong looks elegant in his casual suit and thick-rimmed glasses. The CEO of three companies, he speaks about his favorite cars not just as a fan, but as an entrepreneur sensitive to changing trends, and as a former industrial designer in touch with the human side of products. His enthusiasm is contagious even to someone who doesn’t get cars.
Hong says that he’s an ardent fan of technology. As one of the earliest of early adopters, he is what market analysts who study technology adoption lifecycles call an “innovator,” one of the 2.5% of consumers who track the smallest changes to products and always rush out to buy the newest versions. Hong came to this kind of “innovation” through his love of cars.
“Cars offer a complete product experience.” Hong elaborates, explaining that every detail of the automotive experience, from the vehicle’s appearance to its steering and acceleration, delivers pleasure each time you drive. It’s as if each driving experience opens a hidden window to a realm of opportunity and magic. “Those experiences are priceless!”
Hong’s purchase of his Tesla Roadster seven years ago upended his thinking about cars. A first-generation product from a production run of just 2,400 vehicles, the car suffers from a myriad of ills, yet Hong saw it as the gateway to a new dimension. “It’s like a smartphone: once you’ve used one, there’s no going back.”
He has since parked this Tesla in the lobby of Xing Mobility as an example of the forward thinking and the boundless imagination that electric cars represent.
“Miss R,” an electric supercar that is due to be released soon, has four motors that together are capable of developing 1,341 horsepower. (courtesy of Xing Mobility)