Volvo’s parent Geely to build $170 million joint factory in Vietnam. Credit: Geely
A senior executive at Lotus Technology, the electric vehicle arm of British sports car brand Lotus, apologized Tuesday for the company’s failure to fully inform customers about a significant price cut across its lineup, making it the latest automaker to adopt aggressive pricing in China. Lotus introduced new models with a wider price range and a lower entry price in an effort to be more competitive and attract more customers, according to a letter issued under the name of Lotus China President Mao Jingbo. The news comes a week after the luxury brand—majority-owned by Chinese auto giant Geely following a 2017 financing deal—began selling new versions of its Eletre crossovers and Emeya sedans, with sticker prices starting at more than RMB 500,000 ($68,800). That represents a reduction of at least 20% from a year ago. China accounted for nearly 25% of Lotus’ total deliveries last year, or 12,065 units. [TechNode reporting, Jiemian, in Chinese]
