Why Lotus thinks its luxury EV game plan will succeed globally

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Luxury sports car and EV maker Lotus completed its SPAC merger today in the US. It’s an interesting turn of events for the Geely-backed automaker now known as Lotus Tech given the uncertain EV market in the US, but one that may prove an exception to the struggles of other pure-play EV makers.

Trading under the ticker LOT on the Nasdaq, Lotus Tech will focus on the higher end of the EV market with its Eletre SUV and Emeya sedan, which will not only be offered in the US but also in Europe and, more importantly, China.

“What is most important here is that we are definitely going to more markets at the same time through more models and through more stores,” said Lotus Tech CFO Alexious Lee to Yahoo Finance from the Nasdaq market site.

By the end of the year Lotus will have four vehicles in production, three of them EVs. “These four models are currently available in Asia Pacific and part of it is also available in UK and EU,” Lee said. “We're having the new [Eletre] SUV model coming into the US in the third quarter of this year, so different markets have different strategies and different product offerings and different conditions."

Lotus is able to go to market in a number of territories due to the backing of its majority owner, Chinese auto giant Geely. But it also raised a considerable amount of money through its SPAC merger. Lotus Tech said it raised more than $880 million in pre-closing and PIPE financing commitments, with a targeted valuation on listing day of nearly $7 billion.

Lotus Tech also had an interesting partner with its SPAC merging, combining with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp (LCAA), which is backed by French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

WOODSTOCK, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 01: An All-electric Lotus Eletre Hyper SUV is displayed during the Salon Privé 2023 at Blenheim Palace on September 01, 2023 in Woodstock, England. The four-day annual event is the UK's longstanding celebration of all things motor, with rare collector cars and luxury brands, and culminating in a public day showcasing supercars and classics on September 2. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
An all-electric Lotus Eletre Hyper SUV is displayed during the Salon Privé 2023 at Blenheim Palace on Sept. 1, 2023, in Woodstock, England. (John Keeble/Getty Images) · John Keeble via Getty Images

As Lotus targets the luxury segment with its vehicles — the Eletre and Emeya will be playing in the $80,000 to $150,000 ballpark — having a partner like LVMH, with its deep connections and insights into the luxury consumer, could be hugely beneficial.

“Now what is more important here is Anish Melwani, who is the CEO for LVMH North America, will be on the board of Lotus Tech,” Lee said. “This is a huge opportunity for us to develop a potential partnership in terms of co-branding, co-marketing, and others in a way to help Lotus execute a strategy and develop our full potential in the fast-growing, underserved EV luxury segment market.”

While the LVMH partnership is a nice feather in the cap for Lotus, competitors such as Mercedes, BMW, and Polestar would beg to differ that the global luxury EV market is underserved. One thing for sure, however, is that these legacy brands are pulling back investments and rollout of their EV plans while Lotus is going full bore.