Q&A
How are Lotus sales at the moment?
“We’ve had a really good response to the Eletre. We’ve had good interest and good orders, and a lot of interest from people wanting to test drive the cars when they reach Europe.”
Are you on track to hit your target of 150,000 sales by 2028?
“We haven’t started delivering the first cars in every market in the world – but if you look at the plan we’ve got moving forward, we’ve got a number of new products that are coming in.
“We’re extending our footprint globally as well. We’ve had a relatively modest presence in China previously, but by the end of this year we’ll have over 100 retailers. There’s a real appetite for the Eletre in the US as well. So the growth is a combination of new products, a new footprint in new markets and a bigger addressable market because of the product.”
How much will Lotus draw on its heritage in new markets, particularly in China?
“There are a lot of established brands with heritage, racing and performance credentials. So we’re not unique with that. Equally, there are a lot of new EV players with brilliant technology, processing power and design, but they’re new to the space. They don’t have a brand. They’re great products, but there’s no real tangible brand.
“We’ve got that brand, but unlike some of the other performance and heritage brands within our space, we have the electrification. There’s a white space between pure EV, electrification and digitisation, and performance – and we’re quite rapidly accelerating into the space. So in terms of our heritage, it’s really important everyone – customers and employees – understands what we’ve been doing for 75 years.”
How will Lotus interact with customers in future?
“We’re launching a new app – and it’s far more than a glorified remote control for the car. It will enable you to interact with the car from your phone, interact with your retailer from booking services and
