Lotus Technology makes stock market debut in the USA

Lotus Technology, part of the Geely brand Lotus, has completed its public listing, which was announced around a year ago. The company merged with a shell company and was valued at around 7 billion US dollars as part of the SPAC deal.

The listing on the US stock exchange Nasdaq was the result of a merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corporation (LCAA), which was already listed there. The company is now listed under the ticker symbol LOT. The move was announced in January 2023, after rumours had already been leaked in February 2022. So the plans to go public have been around for some time, and now Lotus is announcing the move. The current management team at Lotus Tech, led by CEO Qingfeng Feng, will retain its management role at the merged company.

“At this point in time, being able to access capital market through the IPO… is an acceleration for Lotus to expand globally,” added Qingfeng Feng, chief executive officer of Lotus Tech.

In recent years, a US IPO via SPAC merger has become a popular way for a fast-growing company to be listed on the Nasdaq. The regular route can take up to two years. As a result, a business segment has emerged for IPO shells that go through this lengthy process after being founded with investor funds and then – for lack of a business core of their own – merge with a promising company that is not yet listed.

Lotus Technology has now followed this path. It is the electric car division of the Lotus, which is jointly owned by the Chinese car manufacturer Geely and Malaysia’s Etika Automotive.

Lotus Technology began production of its first electric model, the Eletre, in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2022. The plant is designed for an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. The model has been delivered in China, the EU and the UK since 2023. We have already driven it (here are our impressions) and the market launch in the USA is also expected this year. Lotus Technology also has a follow-up model in the pipeline in the form of the sporty Emeya electric saloon. Deliveries of this model are to begin in China in March and are due to start in Europe in the second half of 2024.

lotuscars.com, reuters.com