# From For Me, Witnessing the Commitment to "True Luxury," Why Lotus Technology (LOT.US) Deserves a Valuation Premium?

When electrification makes horsepower cheaper and intelligence makes driving more “convenient,” a fundamental question also emerges: for cars, is luxury really just a pile of features, or is it an irreplaceable connection between people and their vehicles?

If you ask Lotus CEO Feng Qinfeng this question, the answer would definitely be the latter. Over the past 78 years, Lotus has been doing one thing repeatedly: defying the laws of physics and staying true to pure driving. In the context of a century of automotive history, this is arguably the most exciting phase—car companies blooming everywhere, with vastly different philosophies of car-making, and an unprecedented divide in the definition of “luxury.” Today, as the industry develops, fewer automakers like Lotus insist on making “driving pleasure” a core brand asset. But in Zhitong Finance, we see that being a minority doesn’t mean being outdated. On the contrary, Lotus’s choice is not driven by sentiment but by clear business judgment: there will always be a segment of users unwilling to be replaced by “convenience.” They seek a sense of control, and Lotus, representing ultimate driving mastery, remains their first choice today.

The Core of the “Small and Beautiful” Narrative: Seeing Lotus’s Commitment to “True Luxury” Through For Me

Wang Guowei’s “Notes on the Human World” describes three levels of reading, with the third being: “Searching for him among thousands, suddenly turning around, only to find him in the dim light.” This ancient poem metaphorically signifies enlightenment and understanding after realization. I believe that Wang Guowei’s three-tier theory applies well to the modern automotive industry. When the industry is obsessed with “searching among thousands” for luxury—chasing it through screens, sound systems, even refrigerators and sofas—Lotus chooses a different path: a return to fundamentals.

At the March 4th technical launch, Feng Qinfeng spent an entire hour explaining not luxury features piled on top of each other, but a series of fundamental automotive performance aspects often overlooked in today’s noisy market: even with only 10% battery remaining, Lotus For Me, tuned with LTS “Lotus Engineering-specific calibration,” can still accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds; after 100 consecutive full-throttle launches from 0 to 100 km/h, the performance remains nearly identical from the first to the hundredth. Behind this extreme performance, Lotus has stripped away 500 kg of weight; while competitors tirelessly add features, Lotus has taken the hardest and most expensive route—“subtraction”—making the car lighter and more precise, so ordinary people can enjoy the control of a professional racing driver.

This seemingly “untimely” choice positions Lotus at the “turning around” moment—when the market, amid clamorous voices, searches for the true meaning of luxury, Lotus remains steadfast, using its 78-year-old brand core to tell the world: true luxury is never far away. It exists in every sense of control when pressing the accelerator, in every corner where man and machine become one.

The driving experience approaching perfection is the most immediate impression I had when test-driving For Me. When the 5.1-meter-long car navigates narrow cones, it feels agile without any sluggishness—more like a ground-hugging four-door coupe than an SUV. Only Lotus can enable non-professional racers to handle 952 horsepower without dizziness, drifting, or losing control. The key to this balance lies in For Me’s integration of a six-dimensional dynamic chassis and F1 master control components, truly bringing “innate talent” from the track into daily driving.

Beyond its powerful performance, Lotus’s most admirable trait is making “horsepower controllable.” The size and high power of For Me mean that if not controlled properly, it could be a beast on the road. During test drives, the emergency braking distance from 100 km/h is only about 33.9 meters—an outstanding result even under the strict German AMS standards, making it a top-tier performance car.

Automotive experience returns to its essence, but behind Lotus’s brand listed company, Lotus Technology (LOT.US), lies a deeper business question: in a fiercely competitive industry, how does a company committed to “driving pleasure” survive?

Feng Qinfeng’s answer is that Lotus does not aim to be the biggest, but must be the most irreplaceable. He believes that personalization is beauty, profitability is beauty— the former is a legacy of Lotus’s 78-year brand DNA, the latter a clear understanding of business reality. When the industry falls into homogeneity, extreme driving control remains Lotus’s unwavering commitment; when competitors prioritize scale above all, Lotus does not blindly join the race but leverages its advantages within Geely’s ecosystem, using shared resources “beneath the iceberg” to achieve synergy and control costs, then fully amplifying its unique differentiation. Ultimately, it seeks the optimal balance between individuality and profitability through careful choices.

A New Product Cycle Begins, Profitability Expected

For Lotus Technology, the launch of For Me marks the start of a strong new product cycle, propelling the company onto the “fast lane” of accelerated investment value realization.

Currently, Lotus For Me began pre-orders on March 10, and on the 29th of this month, it will start mass production and delivery. With its unique personality and the ultimate driving experience of “true luxury,” For Me’s performance in the Chinese market is highly anticipated.

Looking abroad, Europe is also expected to be a key stage for Lotus to “shine again.” It is reported that Lotus For Me is expected to launch in Europe by mid-year, widely regarded as a milestone product for the European market. The reason is that For Me’s powertrain is a first in Europe—previously, hybrid vehicles there were mainly plug-in hybrids with engines, but For Me, powered primarily by electricity, can be charged once a week and refueled once a month, aligning better with local driving habits and needs.

From a secondary market perspective, Zhitong Finance believes that this year and next will be critical for Lotus Technology to validate its growth and investment value. Achieving annual sales of 30,000 units and a 20% gross margin would be enough to turn operating cash flow positive.

By Q3 2025, Lotus Technology has achieved eight consecutive quarters of quarter-over-quarter reductions in operating expenses, indicating accelerated cost-cutting efforts. With the launch of key new products and the realization of previous cost reduction and efficiency measures, Lotus is continuing to implement its “small and beautiful” strategy.

In an era of “anti-involution,” scarcity is the greatest moat. Lotus’s approach to car-making echoes the policy of “counter-involution”: as the CEO states, “There is only one lotus in this world. Lotus will not become someone else, and others will not become Lotus.” This is not only the core of the brand’s philosophy but also its biggest investment logic.

Lotus’s scarcity is first reflected in its “slotting rights” in the technology race. It is the second global automaker and the first Chinese company to pass UN R171 certification—at a time when the regulatory threshold for Level 2 assisted driving is rising, Lotus’s early certification gives it a leading position in autonomous driving compliance.

Favorable external policies also open valuable market windows for Lotus’s global expansion. Earlier this year, Canada announced a reduction in tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%, likely to be the best catalyst for Lotus’s growth in North America. Previously, Deutsche Bank issued a report stating that this policy shift would allow Chinese-made luxury EVs to set more advantageous prices, significantly boosting local demand. Notably, Lotus was the only Chinese automaker to enter the North American market above $80,000, having completed North American compliance certification as early as 2024. Additionally, Lotus has established a comprehensive authorized dealer network in Canada, with plans to increase the number of dealerships to 12 this year, providing a solid foundation to capture market opportunities. Benefiting from this policy, the price of Eletre in Canada has already been reduced by about 50%, with wholesale volumes expected to grow exponentially.

Conclusion

Returning to the initial question: is luxury merely a pile of features, or an irreplaceable connection between people and cars? Lotus’s For Me provides its answer. Lotus’s unwavering focus on driving control forms the most scarce investment advantage of Lotus Technology: it does not compete on scale but leverages “beneath the iceberg” synergies within Geely to control costs, while amplifying its unique qualities “above the iceberg.” From launching a strong new product cycle with For Me to aiming for profitability next year, Lotus Technology proves that in an “anti-involution” era, sticking to that one-of-a-kind lotus is the greatest moat. Such Lotus Technology deserves a valuation premium.