Lotus Isn’t Doing Well, Guys

• Lotus has reported a net loss of $202 million for the second quarter of 2024, up from $193 million in 2023.
• The loss comes despite a massive 239% increase in sales versus the year prior.
• The company plans to employ a new strategy to optimize its internal structure and adjust products for global markets to become cashflow positive by 2026.

Lotus’s foray into electric cars has had a rocky start. While financial results for the first half of 2024 show a big increase in deliveries over last year, the company has cut its deliveries forecast by over 50 percent. Meanwhile, its losses are only going up.

Lotus Technology, the publicly traded company spun out of Lotus Group responsible for building and selling cars, was previously expecting to deliver around 26,000 cars this year.

“After assessment of the evolving market conditions, and uncertainties posed by new tariff policies in US and EU, the company has revised its delivery target for 2024 to 12,000 units,” Lotus Tech said in a statement published Wednesday.

The company has sold 4,873 cars globally so far this year, an increase of 239% versus 2023. The spike can be attributed to the start of deliveries for Lotus’s two new electric cars, the Electre SUV and the Emeya sedan. The brand has sold 2,389 sedans and SUVs so far in 2024, over just 871 units in 2023. 

Deliveries of the gas-powered Lotus Emira sports car have also exploded in the first half of this year. Lotus has sold 2,484 units in 2024 so far, up from just 568 cars in the year prior. This is likely due to the company’s ability to start deliveries in the US after years of emissions-related hold-ups.

Despite a huge jump in revenue to accompany the sales—$225 million for the quarter versus just $111 million last year—Lotus’s net loss has only widened. It posted a $202 million loss for the quarter, up from $193 million last year. The company says the increase comes from selling and marketing expenses related to its expansion, according to Automotive News.

Not all hope is lost, thankfully. Lotus launched a plan called “Win26,” described as a strategy to “further optimize its internal processes and structures, implementing overall cost measures, and recalibrating its product plans to cater to globally diversified markets,” with a goal to achieve positive operating cash flow and EBITDA in 2026. 

With demand for EVs waning, only time will tell if the brand can turn things around.