Lotus vows huge increase in car production after £590m loss

LOTUS has insisted it is on track to increase its electric vehicle production 20-fold to 150,000 cars a year after posting a $750m (£593m) annual loss.

After the Lotus EV division’s first set of results since floating on the New York stock exchange, bosses said they were making “steady progress” towards the target of boosting production by 2028.

Last year, Lotus Technologies, which operates largely from China, said it produced only 6,970 vehicles. The company reported sales of $679m for 2023 overall but after costs, including $369m of research and development spending and $329m spent on sales and marketing, it sunk to an overall loss of $750m.

Lotus Technologies is the EV division of Lotus Group, owned by China’s Geely, which also includes Norfolk-based Lotus Cars.

It makes the marque’s £90,000 Eletre SUV and the £95,000 Emeya grand tourer, both of which are seen as vital to the group’s strategy to pivot towards EVS and bigger sales volumes.

The division listed in New York in February via a so-called special purpose acquisition vehicle (Spac) and has vowed to investors to raise its production to 150,000 cars per year by 2028. However, that could prove increasingly challenging amid a global slowdown in EV sales as carmakers struggle to crack the mass market owing to high vehicle prices and a lack of charging infrastructure.

Yesterday, Qingfeng Feng, chief executive of Lotus Technologies, said: “We are pleased with the early progress and promising results in 2023, with increasing deliveries reflecting the strength of our brand and ramping production.

“We look forward to further accelerating our growth in the year ahead and remain dedicated to creating long-term value for our customers and investors.”

However, since listing two months ago the company has had a bumpy ride. It was valued around $7bn ahead of the float but was around $4.7bn yesterday.

Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover said sales jumped by more than one fifth on the back of “sustained global demand”. The West Midlands-based manufacturer, owned by Indian giant Tata Motors, said retail sales grew 22pc to 431,733 vehicles in the year to March 31.

It followed a 22pc rise in sales of Range Rovers in the fourth quarter and a 5pc rise in Land Rover Defender sales.

The company is due to report fullyear financial results next month after revealing record sales in November, having bounced back from weaker demand in China.