Aug 27, 2026 earnings call — Focus 2030 strategy and Eletre X rollout
Lotus reported first half 2026 revenue of USD 268 million, up 23% year-over-year, driven by 3,904 unit deliveries.
Revenue $0.3B (est $0.1B) · EPS $-0.23 (est $-0.18)
Key quotes
"Now let me turn to the recently unveiled Focus 2030 strategy designed to adapt to an evolving external landscape."
"As of June 30, cumulative orders of For Me in China stood at 2,200 units with deliveries exceeding 1,800 units, largely in line with company expectations."
"First, supply chain collaboration and manufacturing scale with Geely for lifestyle vehicles, over 50% of components share with Geely."
Analyst Q&A 3
For Me PHEV orders and margins
Q (Xinran Li · Deutsche Bank): They asked about the Lotus For Me PHEV since its March launch: order intake, deliveries, market response, customer profile, and full-year sales and margin expectations. They also asked for an update on the Type 135 sports car and how Lotus will sustain growth in the second half.
A: Management said For Me orders in China reached 2,200 units with deliveries exceeding 1,800 units and EU deliveries start in the fourth quarter, with other regions to follow in December. They said For Me has a smaller battery and lower BOM cost, giving it a higher gross margin than pure electric models, and noted 63% of buyers are new to Lotus and over 70% chose the highest spec. They described the Type 135 as a high-performance hybrid flagship in development, meant to strengthen the brand and fill the gap between Emira and Evija, with more technical details to be disclosed later.
"As of June 30, cumulative orders of For Me in China stood at 2,200 units with deliveries exceeding 1,800 units, largely in line with company expectations." — Feng Qingfeng
Focus 2030 goals and UK deal
Q (Jiong Shao · Barclays): They asked why management set Focus 2030 targets (30,000 deliveries, >20% gross margin, positive EBIT) and what progress gives them confidence. They also asked for an update on the Lotus UK acquisition: financial impact and when consolidated results will be disclosed.
A: Management pointed to three pillars supporting Focus 2030: brand building (motorsports and new flagship models), channel expansion (217 retail stores globally) and a full product lineup including both PHEV and BEV models through 2030. They said synergies with Geely (over 50% component sharing, platform and R&D savings) and Lotus UK integration will lower costs and improve gross margin, while near-term consolidation may widen group loss as R&D and admin costs are combined. The company has started the retrospective restatement for fiscal 2025 and said the restatements will be disclosed by the release date of the 2026 annual report.
"We expect the stated financial restatements to be disclosed no later than the release date of the 2026 annual report." — Daxue Wang (CFO)
Margin improvement and chip cost impact
Q (Brian Lantier · Zacks): They asked what drove gross margin improvement from 8% to 10% in H1 and how memory/chip costs affected margins and outlook into 2027.
A: Management said margin improvement came mainly from product mix shifts toward higher-margin PHEV models and from supply chain synergies and scale with Geely that reduced per-vehicle manufacturing costs. They said chip price volatility added nearly 2% to BOM costs in H1, pressured margins, and the company is working with Geely to expand suppliers and optimize BOM to offset this. They expect chip supply and demand to rebalance around late 2026 and early 2027, allowing prices to return to a reasonable range and giving room for further margin improvement.
"My understanding is like this, the chip price volatility alone drove a nearly 2% increase in our BOM costs." — Daxue Wang (CFO)