Lotus: 30% of sales in the Chinese market next year will come from electric vehicles

According to foreign media reports, Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group, said that as car companies begin to introduce more intelligent functions, electric vehicles will gain a greater share in the Chinese market next year.

(Image source: Lotus)

In an interview in Beijing on December 15, Feng Qingfeng said: "Next year, electric vehicles will become the brightest bright spot in the Chinese market, likely to account for 30% of new car sales, or even higher." "In the first 11 months of this year, new energy vehicles (including plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles) gained less than 13% of the share of china's auto market. Feng Qingfeng also said: "Another important driving force is that the level of intelligence of electric vehicles will be greatly improved next year, and vehicles can better understand consumers and make more decisions independently." ”

Lotus Technology, which develops vehicles for the Lotus brand, is currently tapping into the potential of sports cars in China, the world's largest automotive market, with competitors including Porsche and BMW. Feng Qingfeng said that Lotus Technology began to build its global headquarters in Wuhan in August this year, and the construction of the factory has been completed, and it is expected to start mass production by the end of 2022. In addition, the company has been working on preliminary plans to conduct an IPO in the United States or Hong Kong as soon as 2023. Feng Qingfeng revealed that the company also plans to complete the latest round of financing by March next year, amounting to between $400 million and $500 million, and the company's valuation will be between $5 billion and $6 billion.

Lotus belongs to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, founded by Li Shufu, which has long wanted to develop high-end sports cars. Lotus plays an important role in the Geely Group, which offers a variety of models in different classes, from lower-priced Volkswagen models to ultra-luxury sports cars produced by Lotus to meet the needs of different consumers. Feng Qingfeng said that Chinese consumers have a high demand for high-performance sports cars, and he expects half of Lotus's sales to come from the Chinese market in five years, when the company's global deliveries will reach 120,000 to 150,000 units per year.