British Luxury Automaker Forays into Indian Markets

British luxury car maker Lotus Cars made an official and grand entry into the Indian car market on Nov 9. In collaboration with Exclusive Motors of the Asian country in the field of retail sales and services of the Lotus brand, the car manufacturer launched the electric SUV Eletre. This car is now India's most expensive and powerful electric SUV, priced at  2.55 million rupees.

The compact electric SUV is available in three versions: Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R. Lotus Group, also known as Lotus Cars and operating as Lotus NYO in China, is a British multinational manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric lifestyle vehicles.

The Lotus Group consists of three main entities. Lotus Cars, a company specializing in high-performance sports cars, is headquartered in Hethel, Norfolk. Lotus Tech is a company that specializes in all-electric lifestyle vehicles. It is based in Wuhan, China and has regional facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Lotus Engineering, a consultancy firm, is based at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) situated at the University of Warwick's Wellesbourne Campus.

Furthermore, Lotus Technology, the electric vehicle division of Lotus, has a unique ownership structure, with 30% owned by Etika and the remaining portion split between Geely and Nio Capital. The company was recently listed on NASDAQ through a SPAC acquisition. Following the listing, the public will hold 10.3% of the shares.