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Why Lotus thinks its luxury EV game plan will succeed globally

  Luxury sports car and EV maker Lotus completed its SPAC merger last week in the U.S. and its stock was publicly traded for the first time on Friday. It’s an interesting turn of events for the Geely-backed automaker now known as Lotus Tech given the uncertain EV market, 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 U.S. 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. Lotus Eletre in Solar Yellow View 11 Photos 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.

Lotus relocating US headquarters to Michigan

Lotus is planning a renewed push into the North American market. It's got the new Evora 400 coming to America in December, and it's expanding its dealer network as well. And it'll orchestrate it all from its new US headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI. The move will see the main office of Lotus Cars USA leave its current base in Lawrenceville, GA, to move in together with Lotus Engineering in Ann Arbor, putting both operations under one larger roof. The transition is earmarked to be completed by the end of next month. But that's not all. Lotus has also announced that it is expanding its dealer network across North America. The first push will see four new dealerships opening across the United States and Canada, with a pair of new showrooms in California (West Covina and Thermal), another in the car-collector mecca of Scottsdale, AZ, and a new Canadian location in Calgary, Alberta. That'll bring the showroom count up to 47 locations in North America, with more franchises planned for the near future as well. The new and improved Lotus Evora 400 is slated to arrive at US and Canadian dealers starting in December. It packs a number of upgrades over the Evora S, including more power, less weight, new bodywork, and carbon-ceramic brakes. The result is a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds, a top speed quoted at 186 miles per hour, and Hethel test track lap time clocked at six seconds faster than its predecessor. Pricing starts at $89,900. Related Video: EXPANSION AND CO-LOCATION FOR LOTUS IN THE USA - Co-location of Lotus Cars USA. Inc, to Lotus Engineering. Inc, in Ann Arbor, MI to support growth - First deliveries of New Lotus Evora 400 in USA and Canada in December 2015 - Expansion of the Lotus dealer network The introduction of the Lotus Evora 400, as a 2017 North American Model Year, marks the start of a fresh period in Lotus' presence in this vital market. The previous model Evora already received positive acclaim from media, customers and dealers alike and reaffirmed Lotus as the maker of some of the finest, purest, most lightweight and most efficient sports cars sold today. Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer, Group Lotus plc, explains: "The Lotus Evora 400 combines high performance with the legendary Lotus benchmark handling. It is lighter, more efficient and dynamically better than ever.

Lotus Evora S IPS automatic transmission option arrives in October [w/video]

The Lotus Evora S IPS that the company showed drifting all around its test track earlier this year will be available in October, says Car and Driver. The kinder, gentler Lotus is fitted with the six-speed Intelligent Precision Shift transmission, an Aisin unit swiped from the Toyota Camry and retuned with Lotus electronics and actuators.
There are two 'regular' modes and two 'sport' modes on the IPS gearbox. The former include a traditional hands-off automatic and an auto mode with shifts handled by wheel-mounted paddles. The latter are a sport automatic setting that sharpens the car's responses and a manual sport mode for total driver control. The Evora S IPS hits showrooms in October. For now, you can take a look at Lotus' test driver giving it the beans in the video below.