Lotus Technology, a new division of Group Lotus, has officially launched its global headquarters with a ceremony in Wuhan, China. The global “intelligent technology” subsidiary’s role is to accelerate innovation in the fields such as batteries and energy management, electric motors, electronic control systems, intelligent driving, and intelligent manufacturing.
The new division’s headquarters will be completed in 2024 and supplemented by an all-new factory to manufacture Lotus electric vehicles for global markets that will open later this year in Wuhan. Attending the event were Eric Li, Chairman of Geely Holding Group, and Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Group Lotus. They were joined by Li Bin, the Founder of Nio, who has become an investor in Lotus Technology. Lotus and Nio are said to share many common interests in the field of intelligent electric mobility, and they may explore opportunities for future cooperation.
Group Lotus is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, which is home to its sports and hypercar manufacturing operations, Lotus Advanced Performance Centre, and its iconic 2.2-mi test track. It is part of Geely Automotive, which has a 51% controlling stake, with 49% owned by Malaysian conglomerate Etika Automotive.
In conjunction with the event, a bit more clarity was provided on the Lotus global operations. In the UK, Lotus will be responsible for the development and production of sports cars and the Evija electric hypercar as well as coordinating global sales for the Lotus brand. Lotus Technology in China will be responsible for integrating a new generation of lifestyle products, bringing together China’s EV manufacturing, UK’s design and advanced performance centers, Germany-based R&D resources (Lotus Technology Innovation Centre in Raunheim), and the global development and production of premium intelligent drive technologies.
“This is an important day in the transformation of the Lotus business and brand,” said Feng Qingfeng. “Lotus Technology will accelerate the innovation, which has always been at the heart of the business. Together the China and UK teams will empower our journey towards an expanded, intelligent, and electric future, achieving the ambitions and goals that have been in the making for 73 years of the Lotus brand.”
At the Wuhan event, the executives revealed high-level plans for Lotus products for the next five years. On the premium architecture, Lotus will debut an E-segment SUV codenamed Type 132 in 2022; an E-segment four-door coupe, the Type 133, comes in 2023; and a D-segment SUV called Type 134 arrives in 2025. An all-new electric sports car called the Type 135 comes in 2026.
The Lotus premium architecture is one of the four new vehicle platforms announced at Lotus’ Driving Tomorrow global strategy conference in April. The other platforms are sportscar, hypercar, and electric sportscar.
The premium architecture supports a wheelbase range from 2889 to 3100 mm (114 to 122 in) but could be further expanded in the future. It includes the development of all types of passenger vehicles from C+ to E segments. Using 92- to 120-kW·h batteries, the platform is being engineered to be compatible with the industry’s most advanced 800-V high-speed EV charging system. Products developed on this platform will be capable of 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration in under 3 s.
The new vehicles will join the Evija all-electric hypercar and the Emira, which will both be built at Hethel, UK.
Revealed in July, the new Emira on the sports car architecture is the last gasoline-fueled Lotus sports car but is meant to deliver exotic supercar appeal, taking inspiration from Evija hypercar. Developed on sports car architecture, it gets a new-to-Lotus 2.0-L turbocharged i4 engine from technical partner AMG, supplementing the range-topping 3.5-L supercharged V6 from the outgoing Exige and Evora models. In its lightest form, the Emira’s target weight of 1405 kg (3097 lb). Pricing will start from under £60,000, with the first customer cars to be delivered in 2022.
Lotus first revealed the Evija in July 2019. Built on the hypercar architecture, it will go into production later this year as the world’s most powerful car, according to its maker. An ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber monocoque makes it the world’s lightest production EV hypercar at 1680 kg (3703 lb). Target performance figures for the all-electric, all-wheel-drive powertrain having more than 2000 PS () are 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 3 s and a top speed over 200 mph (320 km/h). The electric driving range is targeted at 215 mi (345 km) on the WLTP Combined Cycle.
At the Lotus Technology event, Lotus also unveiled the concept of “track-level intelligent drive” as a 10-year technological development target. The new technology’s aim is to assist drivers to perform as well as an F1 driver on track, while increasing driver safety and improving performance on the road through advanced software and hardware.
These initiatives are part of the bigger Vision80, an ongoing strategic plan that outlines the transformation of Lotus ahead of its 80th birthday in 2028. The establishment of Lotus Technology marks a crucial step on that journey of global expansion—and on the road to an intelligent and electric future, says the company.
Founded by Colin Chapman in 1948, Lotus has led the industry with its commitment to pure driving, outstanding ride and handling, lightweight technologies, and world-class aerodynamic engineering. Now, with the backing and global resources of Geely Holding Group, the company is benefitting from new capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain management.
“Transforming Lotus from a UK sports car company to a truly global performance car company has always been at the core of Vision80,” said Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars. “The launch of Lotus Technology is a major milestone on the road to making that a reality, while adhering to the unwavering Lotus principles of pure performance, efficiency, motorsport success and, above all, being ‘For the Drivers.’”
The new Lotus manufacturing plant in Wuhan opening later this year is being built to become a global center of excellence for Lotus’ premium lifestyle models. Covering an area of over 1 million m², with an investment of over £900 million, the new plant has the capacity to ramp up to the production of 150,000 vehicles a year.
It is said to be the first in the world with an integrated intelligent test track in which vehicles can be transported into workshops using autonomous driving technology without human intervention. It is designed to accommodate vehicles driving at speeds up to 140 mph (225 km/h) through 16 corners.
