Lotus will partner with British Gas parent company Centrica to develop a “new model” that they claim will “redesign” electric vehicle ownership.
Lotus will partner with British Gas parent company Centrica to develop a “new model” that they claim will “redesign” electric vehicle ownership.The Norfolk marque, which is owned by Chinese firm Geely, is gearing up to launch the Evija electric hypercar later this year. It says the new partnership will lead to “a dedicated Lotus energy strategy and the development of a charging infrastructure for future customers. It will also form a core part in helping Lotus reach net zero carbon emissions, part of its Vision80 strategy.
Lotus and Centrica will work together to develop what they call a flexible platform that “fully integrates future mobility and energy” by “making the car an extension of the home.” While no specific details have been given, it will involve using Lotus EVs for home-based vehicle-to-grid charging, where energy stored in the car’s battery can be fed into the gris while it is plugged in.
The two firms will also team up to establish “a new global charging and energy infrastructure for new products”. It has not been specified if any resulting charging infrastructure will be an open system, or exclusive to Lotus models in a similar fashion to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Centrica will also help Lotus to develop a sustainability programme based on the use of low carbon technologies to help result the car maker’s carbon emissions.
Lotus boss Phil Popham said: “Our journey to net-zero carbon is absolutely lock-in-step with the Vision80 strategy for Lotus – taking us to eighty years of the business in 2028. By then we will have transformed Lotus into a truly global player in the high-performance high-technology sector.”
He added: “The difference is the energy and infrastructure that will power and support these products in the future – this new partnership demonstrates the progress being made and the ambition of our vision.”
James Attwood