A few days ago, foreign media reported that the international ultra-luxury sports car brand Lotus is accelerating the process of electrification and making sufficient preparations for the listing of Lotus Technology. Lotus spokesman James Andrew said that Lotus Technology focuses on the research and development of its pure electric models and is currently evaluating listing in the United States or Hong Kong (and excluding other regions), but its specific financing scale and valuation have yet to be determined.
For the above news, the relevant person in charge of Lotus told the "China Business News" reporter that at present, it is only considering listing, and there is no official announcement plan for IPO, and the amount of financing and the location of listing are also undecided. "We have always maintained a dynamic and open attitude towards the specific listing scale, location selection, etc., and everything is possible."
As for the time of the planned listing, the above-mentioned person in charge said that Lotus will combine the company's business development and market conditions, and generally choose the best time from the perspective of optimal allocation of resources and asset use efficiency to maximize the interests of the company, investors and shareholders.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to being listed, at the capital level, it was reported last year that Lotus plans to complete a new round of financing of up to $500 million by March 2022. Upon completion of the financing, Lotus will be valued at $5 billion to $6 billion. How is the above financing progressing? The above-mentioned person in charge of Lotus said that there was no response to this.
Intention to go public
As a world-renowned sports car and racing brand, Lotus is known for its pure driving pleasure and lightweight design. In June 2017, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired a 51% stake in Lotus. Lotus Technology, as the main body of Lotus' listing, was officially established on August 31, 2021, and its global headquarters was located in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone.
As a core component of Lotus's "China-UK Dual Engine" strategy, Lotus Technology will integrate R&D and design institutions and global resources from China, the United Kingdom and Germany to create ultra-high-end pure electric intelligent vehicles for the global market, empowering Lotus Group to transform towards electrification and intelligence.
Specifically, Lotus UK will be responsible for the research and development and production of other sports car models such as pure electric supercars, while Lotus Technology will integrate Chinese, British and German R&D and design institutions and global resources to be responsible for the research and development and production of global ultra-high-end intelligent electric vehicles.
How to do a good job in the linkage cooperation of all parties? The relevant person in charge of Lotus said: "Whether it is in the UK, China, Europe or the United States, there is only one Lotus brand on the earth, which is our concept of 'One Globe, One Brand, One Team', Feng Qingfeng is the CEO of Lotus Group and the helmsman who connects the two sides." ”
In addition, Lotus has also established a global science and technology committee, a global brand committee, a global ESG committee, etc., each committee composed of lotus executives and industry experts from different regions of the world, 24X7 global coordination and communication, to ensure a high degree of globalization, unification and efficiency of management strategy, strategy and execution.
For the listing, Feng Qingfeng once said in an interview with this newspaper and other media reporters: "Lotus Technology is a long-term technology company, and our primary consideration is whether we can achieve industry-leading technological breakthroughs and deliver the best products and solutions for users." We are also an open technology company and welcome more capital forces to join us. ”
It is worth mentioning that at the online inauguration ceremony of Lotus Technology at that time, Li Bin, founder and chairman of NIO, attended and delivered a speech as the managing partner of NIO Capital. At that time, Feng Qingfeng also said: "In addition to the investment of capital, we will also explore more possibilities for cooperation. I have always said that in the future of the automobile market, it will not work alone. ”
This time it was rumored to be listed, and the relevant person in charge of Lotus also told reporters: "Marketization and capitalization are the only way for an enterprise to become bigger and stronger, especially for lotus, a global brand." Lotus has taken the lead in the world to move towards full electrification, in this process, Lotus Technology cut into the intelligent track, in the capital operation is bound to be in a leading position. ”
Some insiders once told reporters: "Whether it is a new energy vehicle or a traditional car, the entire development and sales life cycle is very long, all put forward high requirements for the company's funds, and the current new energy vehicle brand on the market has been quite rich, so whether it can withstand the pressure and get a piece of the new energy market, not only depends on the financial strength of the enterprise, but also looks at the product itself, as well as brand building, after-sales, related supporting infrastructure and other factors." ”
Electric transformation
Since the acquisition of Lotus in 2017, Geely Group has fully supported Lotus's product research and development and electrification and intelligent transformation layout. Compared with the conservative strategy of most traditional fuel sports car brands, Lotus's electrification transformation is not slow.
As early as October 2018, Lotus launched the "Vision 80" brand revival plan for the world, which is the first world-class sports car brand to transform to electrification and intelligence. Not only that, the all-electric supercar Type 130 Evija and the fuel-singing Type 131 Emira launched by Lotus in 2019 and 2021 respectively marked the brand's determination to electrify and digitally transform.
Regarding lotus's electrification transformation, Feng Qingfeng once said: "2018 is the 70th anniversary of lotus. We have always said that we want to transform, just when the wave of electrification and intelligence in the automotive industry has swept in, we have firmly established the direction of transformation to electrification and intelligence. ”
"But at that time, the British team still had questions about the transformation - as a sports car brand, what will the transformation to electrification and intelligence bring? However, one thing is very clear, we can only transform in this direction to be successful, which is an opportunity given to us by the times. Transformation is likely to succeed, but failure to transform is bound to fail. Feng Qingfeng said.
A number of industry insiders told reporters that the trend of electrification transformation of luxury brands is irreversible. Because the engine displacement power of luxury cars is relatively large, the fuel consumption will be relatively high, then the negative integral will be more, and it will be gradually transformed to electrification in the future.
The relevant person in charge of Geely Group told reporters: "The most important development plan of the Lotus brand is to fully transform electrification and expand to the field of 'living cars', and it is expected that after 10 years, the annual sales volume will increase from 1710 in 2021 to 150,000 vehicles, an increase of nearly 100 times, and Lotus Technology is the key to whether the plan can be achieved." China is likely to contribute half of its total global sales over the next five years. ”
According to the plan, by 2026, Lotus will launch four new models: in 2022, the E-class pure electric SUV codenamed Type 132 will be launched; in 2023, an electric four-door coupe codenamed Type 133 will be launched; in 2025, a new pure electric model code-named Type 134 will be launched; and in 2026, a new pure electric sports car codenamed Type 135 will be launched.
The reporter learned from Lotus that Lotus is currently conducting private tasting sessions of Type132 around the world, which are privately enjoyed in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, London and other first-tier cities around the world for a limited time, and the invited objects include capital markets, seed users and Lotus global partners, and then Type132 will also appear in other parts of the world such as Amsterdam.
It is worth mentioning that in the context of the "double carbon" goal, Lotus Technology is also actively practicing the ESG concept. The reporter learned that Li Kunlong, CFO of Lotus Technology, is responsible for global ESG work, comprehensively promotes the various indicators of Lotus ESG, and achieves carbon neutrality and carbon peaking from the whole process of operation and development to the whole region.
In addition, Lotus also said: "In the future, Lotus will bring more models with excellent performance, stunning shape, energy saving and environmental protection to the market and consumers." ”