According to a recent report from Autocar, Geely-owned Lotus Cars is considering entering the stock market with its Lotus Technology division. Lotus says if it follows through with the idea, it could value the division at some £5-6 billion.
Lotus is currently on tour as part of a roadshow that started in Geely's home base, China. Now, Lotus has moved on to London to talk to a pool of future investors. Reportedly, Lotus will reveal details about its upcoming electric SUV with the investors. A company spokesperson explained that the idea behind the event is to “take the temperature” of investors' potential interest in buying future Lotus Technology stock.
The spokesman went on to say that he prefers going the IPO route over the SPAC method. Interestingly, Polestar, which is also owned by Geely, chose the SPAC option, which is the quicker and easier route. However, several companies that have chosen to enter the market via a SPAC have struggled and even failed. Lotus is looking to make the move in the next year or two, though it hasn't yet decided if it should enter the market in Asia, London, or New York.
During the talks with investors, Lotus said it aims to sell 100,000 cars annually by 2028. Some 90,000 of those vehicles will be either electric sedans or electric SUVs manufactured by Lotus Technology.
Lotus Technology plans to bring an electric SUV to market first, codenamed Type 132. The Type 133, which Autocar says is this size of a Porsche Taycan, will follow in 2023. Lotus goes on to suggest it will launch a smaller SUV in 2025 and an electric sports car thereafter.
All of Lotus Technology's EVs will be produced in Wuhan, China. They will be sold locally and abroad. The Lotus spokesman also noted that while no decisions have been made, the company had a "strong" reaction from potential investors in China.
