Even by the topsy-turvy standards of the automotive industry in 2024, this has been quite the week. Ford has announced job cuts in the UK, which for a long time would have seemed an impossible eventuality, Jaguar has melted the internet with its astonishing relaunch, and now Lotus has confirmed the introduction of hybrid technology. Having previously said it would be an EV-only carmaker in the not-too-distant future. All in the space of a few days - it’s hard to keep up.
‘Hyper Hybrid EV technology’ is the new phrase, launched at the Guangzhou Auto Show and underpinned by a 900V electrical system (800V EVs are the ones that charge particularly fast). As a result, Lotus is promising both super quick battery replenishment while driving as well as ‘Ultra-Fast Plug-In Charging’; indeed it reckons that both will be industry-leading. It’s going to be very hard to find yourself stranded in a Hyper Hybrid Lotus, or bemoaning a lack of range, if the claims are to be believed. The powertrain promises more than 1,100km of range, or 684 miles, a useful boost from even the rangiest Lotus EVs currently offered. There are no details yet on the combustion side of the Hyper Hybrid EV tech.
‘High performance, high efficiency and a flexible longer driving distance’ is the promise, which certainly sounds like the ideal cake-and-eat-it scenario for an electrified car. Most PHEVs won’t take DC charge of more than 50kW, when dedicated EVs can be comfortably above 200kW, so if that number could be improved (while retaining a decent amount of zero-emissions range) then it makes a plug-in more appealing. Hopefully that claim about efficiency means a hybrid Lotus won’t weigh too much either - although let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
Not least as Lotus surely needs to be selling more cars first. While the results for the first nine months of 2024 globally are encouraging, with a 136 per cent increase on the 2023 number, that’s still just 7,617 cars. Europe was up 372 per cent year-on-year, and interestingly the sales split across the planet between Emira and the EVs (Eletre and Emeya) was almost even: 3,983 Lifestyle SUV and Sedan, 3,634 Sportscars. But whichever way you slice the pizza, it’s still not very large.
So the financial losses continue, basically. While total revenues for the first three quarters of the year were up 105 per cent to $653m (£520m), the operating loss was $598m (£477m), and the adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) was $563m (£450m) - a 16 per cent increase on 2023. And near as makes no difference half a billion pounds. With some of 2024 left to run.
Nevertheless, the mood is upbeat. It has to be. CEO Qingfeng Feng said: “We are excited to see significant progress in our intelligent driving business across the world with revenue of the business from customers other than Lotus surged to $11 million with a year-on-year growth of 450 per cent, contributing about two per cent of total revenue. We also launched Hyper Hybrid EV technology, in line with evolving market demands. We remain committed in executing ‘Win26’ Plan to drive efficiency and competitiveness, delivering sustainable value for our shareholders and investors." Sounds like there’ll be a lot more news from Lotus in 2025.
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