Geely's Ultra-Luxury Carmaker Lotus Drops Full Electrification Plans, CEO Says

(Yicai) May 14 -- Lotus Technology, the British luxury sports electric carmaker owned by China's Geely Holding Group, will suspend its full electrification strategy and hike fuel and hybrid vehicle efforts due to the complex market environment, its chief executive officer said.Lotus will release its new fuel-powered sports model, the Emira 420, in the coming weeks, while it also plans to launch a hybrid hypercar, the Type 135, in 2028, Feng Qingfeng noted in an internal letter yesterday. The firm will fully transition to electric vehicles when market conditions are mature, he added.On May 11, Lotus unveiled its Focus 2030 strategy, according to which it will pursue an agile approach across internal combustion engines, hybrid EVs, and battery EVs and target a 60 to 40 mix between PHEVs and BEVs over its electric portfolio in the transition to full electrification.Established in 1948, Lotus was once regarded as one of the world's top three sports car manufacturers along with Porsche and Ferrari. It was first acquired by US' General Motors in 1986 and then by Malaysian auto firm Proton in 1996 due to financial difficulties, before Hangzhou-based Geely took control in 2017.Geely proposed to revive the Lotus brand within 10 years and complete a full-scale transformation towards electrification and intelligence by 2028, launching several battery EV models, including the Evija, the Eletre, and the Emeya, since the acquisition.However, the development of the battery electric sports car market has fallen short of expectations, with Lotus' sales plunging 46 percent to 6,520 units last year from 2024, while its revenue tumbled 44 percent to USD519 million, according to its annual financial report released last month. Despite that, its net loss narrowed 58 percent to USD464 million thanks to the optimization of its product portfolio and cost control.Lotus will no longer blindly pursue sales growth but will focus on achieving higher profit margins, Feng stressed. It will also further reduce costs and increase efficiency by integrating its sports car research and development and manufacturing business in the United Kingdom with its electric and intelligent vehicle entity in China, aiming to turn a profit next year, he pointed out.Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev