Under the new pattern of the global automotive industry, how many steps should be taken to revive the "traditional" brand? How many more years will you have to "start another business"? The jury is inconclusive. And adding a prefix to the question - luxury, supercar, is even more difficult to find. Now, Lotus' Vision 80 10-year brand revival plan has reached the mid-level level, with steep roads in the middle of the mountain and a rush in the middle. Going public in the U.S. will undoubtedly bring more water to the financing pool. However, in addition to the aura of the listing story, a clear brand direction and firm implementation are the only ways to support the construction of Lotus's technology system, innovate technology, products and business mechanisms, and accelerate the global layout. 
Listing hustle and bustle.
On February 23, Eastern time, Lotus Technology, a luxury supercar brand, successfully completed its merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp (LCAA), a special purpose acquisition company, and successfully sounded the "opening bell" on the NASDAQ exchange in New York. 
According to the statements of the merger parties, the existing Lotus Technology shareholders are expected to transfer all of their respective equity holdings to the combined company and hold approximately 897% of the issued and outstanding share capital. Allegedly, the issuance does not exceed 1With 8.1 billion common shares, it is the largest U.S. listing since July 2021. According to pre-IPO investor relations documents, the merger valued Lotus at $6.1 billion. Since the announcement of the transaction, the company has received more than 8.8 percent of its global investors, existing shareholders and strategic partners through public equity private placements (PIPEs) and convertible bonds$800 million in financing commitments. "The successful listing on Nasdaq is a key turning point in the development of Lotus Technologies, which will help Lotus Technology accelerate its goal of becoming a leading provider of sustainable luxury pure electric smart mobility under the guidance of the Vision 80 strategy," said Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group. ”
According to industry analysts, Lotus's landing in the capital market can replenish funds for the transformation and development of the brand, expand financing channels, and raise funds through the capital market to provide protection for it in the current fierce competition of new energy vehicle brand "Blood Sea", which is an opportunity for Lotus at this stage. Mike Johnstone, chief commercial officer of Lotus Technologies, said that the funds raised after the IPO will be used to accelerate product innovation, develop next-generation automotive technology, expand the global distribution network, and run the company on a day-to-day basis. As the first intermediate sector for new technology and innovation in the United States, the NASDAQ especially carries high expectations for emerging technology companies. Feng Qingfeng said that the integration of modern technology and intelligent direction on the basis of traditional luxury car brands is not only the anchoring foothold of Lotus in today's automobile market, but also gradually formed the unique advantages of Lotus. On the first day of listing, Lotus shares closed at 13$8 shares, with a market capitalization of 92$9.4 billion. It not only shows that its future growth is in the spotlight, but also expresses the market's confidence in the luxury electric hypercar track, as well as the recognition of Lotus' vision80 strategy and electrification transformation initiatives. When the leap rises again.
For Lotus, which has been established for 76 years, its global development strategy involves many countries, as well as product line updates, technology research and development, and marketing channel expansion. Therefore, it is an inevitable choice for Lotus to make full use of the advantages of global enterprises to achieve the true globalization of R&D, manufacturing and sales, and to use the global capital market. "Lotus was born in the UK and aspires to make a name for himself around the world. The listing in the United States will inevitably accelerate the global layout of Lotus Technology, and will also make the management of Lotus Technology more transparent and scientific. ”
It is reported that Lotus's UK team is mainly committed to the development and production of sports cars, focusing on Lotus's research in lightweight design and aerodynamics. In Coventry, UK, Lotus has also established a creative centre focused on styling and materials research. In addition, Lotus has set up an innovation center in Frankfurt, Germany, focusing on innovative technologies in the digitalization and intelligence of the chassis. The China team is mainly responsible for the intelligent areas of user interaction, such as intelligent cockpits and intelligent driving. With the establishment of the Lotus Technology Global Headquarters in Wuhan, the Global Smart Factory and the Ningbo Lotus Technology Research Institute, Lotus is gradually integrating global R&D resources. At the same time, Lotus has a global marketing and sales network. In 2023, Lotus' flagship brand experience centers will open in Europe. To date, Lotus has expanded its retail network to more than 200 stores worldwide. Lotus also plans to open further stores in key markets around the world, including Europe, Asia and the United States. Feng said the listing will support Lotus Technology's expansion of its global distribution network and drive the company's goal of increasing the number of stores worldwide to more than 300 by 2025. Its pure electric supercar SUV Eletre will enter Malaysia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the United States and other global core markets this year. Vision 80 has reached halftime.
Faced with the irreconcilable objective reality between the supercar market and the theory of scale, Lotus's transformation is reflected in abandoning the traditional car development model, reorganizing the organizational framework, fully embracing the new wave, and pinning its hopes on finding a new path of business innovation through intelligent and electric technology. However, as the target area is no longer limited to the original niche category, new business problems have also arisen: under the current wave of electrification and intelligence, there are serious homogenization problems in passenger cars in terms of power, response, interaction, intelligence, etc., how can Lotus, which focuses on sports car performance, tap into differentiated product value? In this regard, Lotus proposed the Vision 80 ten-year brand revival plan in 2018, mainly focusing on two aspects: first, technological innovation, from traditional fuel vehicles to electrification and intelligence; The second is product innovation, completing the comprehensive transformation from a sports car to a pure electric intelligent life car. The IPO also happens to divide Lotus Technology's 10-year revival plan into two phases. The first half of the journey focused on products and technology, allowing the brand to make full use of the inherent advantages of China and Europe, gather global resources and advantages, and establish a new standard for pure electric luxury brands by innovating a lot in the field of electrification and intelligence on the basis of inheriting the supercar design language and track engineering technology. For example, Lotus has launched the 800V high-voltage electric performance architecture EPA, which has the capabilities of super charging, high energy efficiency and ultra-fast data transmission. The EV-specific architecture is also highly adaptable, with different sizes of batteries and motors, and a flexible chassis layout. Another example is the 6D chassis control system, which can accurately control the intervention status of multiple components including suspension, aerodynamic package, and braking system, and systematically control the six degrees of freedom of the body when cornering, so that the vehicle can maintain the best attitude in any situation. In addition, Lotus will also participate in the R&D and construction of cutting-edge flash charging technology in 2023, self-developed a fully liquid-cooled automatic supercharging system, mass-produced "flash charging robots", and landed commercial automatic supercharging stations to support industry-leading 1000V 600A output for extremely fast charging of vehicles. At the same time, Lotus has also become one of the founding members of the Flash Charging Committee of the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, China's first charging service platform organization for luxury car brands. Through the joint construction of cutting-edge brand flash charging stations, we will promote the rapid implementation of high-power intelligent ultra-fast charging technology, jointly lay out and build charging networks, achieve resource sharing and business win-win, and help the high-quality development of China's charging infrastructure construction. 
At present, Lotus has launched a series of high-performance, well-balanced models, including the all-electric supercar SUV Eletre and the all-electric supercar sedan Emeya. After the EMEYA, Lotus also plans to launch the D-Class in 2025 and an all-electric sports car in 2026, further enriching the product lineup and forming a product lineup of "three sports cars + three lifestyle cars". After the milestone moment of launch, Lotus needs to be keenly aware of the market opportunities in the second half of the Vision 80 program, especially in the current market trends, where the luxury electric vehicle market presents great potential. According to the data of the China National Association, the sales of new energy vehicles with more than 500,000 yuan are rising year by year, and the year-on-year growth rate will reach 59% in 2023, much higher than the average level of passenger cars. In particular, the D-class new energy models have risen the most, which has exceeded 160%; The market size of C-class new energy vehicles has also exceeded one million, with a growth rate of 73%. Liu Yan, deputy secretary-general of the China National Association, believes that these data clearly show the trend of consumption upgrading in the field of luxury electric vehicles in the Chinese market. "The data for the global automotive market also confirms this. Lotus's flagship models are priced in the $80,000 to $150,000 range, which is just right for this segment of the luxury electric vehicle market, where demand is rising. ”
Although more competitors have rushed into this market, the "cake" in this market obviously depends more on their own strength. In Feng's view, the Lotus brand's engineering capabilities in aerodynamics, lightweighting and handling are the unique DNA of Lotus. The newly launched Eletre and Emeya models embody all three of these qualities and reflect the Lotus brand's identity. "Overall, Lotus' goal is to launch an electric car with sports car performance, a perfect combination of sports car performance and intelligence. It is believed that with the continuous expansion of the market, Lotus will also be able to share more market share in the competition. ”Conclusion
For any automotive brand, the journey to create a business excellence is a long and arduous journey, and in addition to the continuous refinement of the brand's organizational structure and core competencies, a strong vision and a clear direction are equally important. In this process, Lotus, as a luxury supercar brand that dares to break through tradition and innovation, has demonstrated firm execution with its unique transformation strategy and clear brand proposition "for the drivers". The successful listing on the NASDAQ also means that the Vision 80 plan proposed by Lotus Technology has been recognized and is a phased success.
Liu Yan said that in the era of electric vehicles, the product portfolio provided by Lotus makes luxury supercars no longer unattainable, and brings luxury cars into a more intimate era, bringing a unique experience to drivers. In addition, the development of Lotus in the past two years to actively promote car culture among the Chinese automotive market and users has also made the brand more attractive.