Lotus stock ( LOT ) given a thumbs down today on Barron's Roundtable financial show

[Ryder]

New issue today for the stock exchange. The jist was the last thing needed in the automotive industry was another high end EV company.
Any Lotus enthusiasts buying this new issue ?

 

[Speedy Emira]

Considering high end EVs are failing to sell as fast they are produced for most companies it sounds pretty realistic.

 

[brainf18]

IPO Disaster for Lotus. The opening day's volume says it all. Less than 190k shares traded hands and a 30% decrease in share price on the IPO's opening day. Ooooof! that's not good.

The problem is that Lotus (Geely) got out over their skis. If they'ed kept quite, set up their supply chain, built out production capacity, and sorted out regulatory/CARB issues BEFORE announcing the brand re-launch, its likely things would have been significantly better from a business standpoint. Sometimes tactical patience pays off with strategic dividends. Whomever is at the helm (Lotus, Geely or both) got impatient and it looks like it cost them. Time will tell if the product is well enough received to make up for the lackluster start

 

[EspritGuy]

IPO Disaster for Lotus. The opening day's volume says it all. Less than 190k shares traded hands and a 30% decrease in share price on the IPO's opening day. Ooooof! that's not good.

View attachment 37539

The problem is that Lotus (Geely) got out over their skis. If they'ed kept quite, set up their supply chain, built out production capacity, and sorted out regulatory/CARB issues BEFORE announcing the brand re-launch, its likely things would have been significantly better from a business standpoint. Sometimes tactical patience pays off with strategic dividends. Whomever is at the helm (Lotus, Geely or both) got impatient and it looks like it cost them. Time will tell if the product is well enough received over time to make up for the lackluster start

Wasn't anything learned from the NFT fiasco?

 

[Time2Fly]

Wasn't anything learned from the NFT fiasco?

Ape together strong. NFTs on the other hand have zero value.

 

[Nova]

HODL!

 

[VL3X]

HODL!

Jk.. SPACs never work out for investors and Lotus already has enough of my money. Been holding NIO for years though (the EV tech Lotus is using).

 

[Time2Fly]

 

[Nick in Sydney]

If they'ed kept quite, set up their supply chain, built out production capacity, and sorted out regulatory/CARB issues BEFORE announcing the brand re-launch, its likely things would have been significantly better from a business standpoint.

My bet is that weak sales and slow delivery of Electre and Emeya is the fundamental problem.

Emira doesn't even factor in this. Lotus Technology is being spruiked as a luxury EV brand and Lotus Motors isn't part of the initial SPAC (they have an option to acquire it).

 

[kitkat]

Emira doesn't even factor in this. Lotus Technology is being spruiked as a luxury EV brand and Lotus Motors isn't part of the initial SPAC (they have an option to acquire it).

Absolutely, the Emira was missing from the MarketSite media photos of Lotus cars in Times Square.

 

[brainf18]

Emira is not a factor from a bean counting perspective but surely is for brand reputation and word of mouth communications between existing Lotus customers and future potential customers for their SUV and mass market vehicles. Safe to say Lotus is a well known brand with enthusiasts but not so much with the "average" car buying consumer. When affluent buyers start thinking about Lotus there's a good chance they'll reach out to a friend or relative that is a "car guy" to get their thoughts. Based on the Emira roll out in North America that conversation won't go well for Lotus.

 

[CarGuy07]

Lotus missed a huge opportunity to make a splash by not advertising during Superbowl few weeks ago. It is expensive but worth it to the millions who don’t know who Lotus is. Cost per impression would have been very low.

 

[Time2Fly]

Lotus missed a huge opportunity to make a splash by not advertising during Superbowl few weeks ago. It is expensive but worth it to the millions who don’t know who Lotus is. Cost per impression would have been very low.

I don't think they need hundreds of millions of disappointed buyers awaiting a car.

 

[Nova]

Based on what we have seen, the structure of Lotus is fundamentally flawed in terms of sales execution. The products are good, I have no doubt. And I believe there is serious synergy (lol) to be had with the Lotus brand and the product design capabilities of the teams in China and UK. The Eletre is very impressive bas a product and the speed to market also shows us that the engineering and manufacturing chain are well done.

The issue is marketing, massaging, and delivering the product. These have typically been the weaknesses of all large scale industrial/tech Chinese companies that have tried to expand outside of China: BYD, Alibaba, Huawei, Etc. They have some success abroad but it pales in comparison to the scale of these companies in China.

 

[Atlantis Blue Emira]

Ape together strong. NFTs on the other hand have zero value.

BAYC to the moon

 

[Atlantis Blue Emira]

Wasn't anything learned from the NFT fiasco?

Yes, if you got in early, you are at 10-1,000x.

If you get in late, you hold the bags.

 

[Liquid Hot Magma]

The issue is marketing, massaging, and delivering the product. These…

Yes, it has been inadequate. We’re all suffering from happy ending denial.

 

[EspritGuy]

I don't think they need hundreds of millions of disappointed buyers awaiting a car.

Q - which suspension did you order?
A - disbelief

 

[Porter]

Yes, if you got in early, you are at 10-1,000x.

If you get in late, you hold the bags.

I believe they call that a pump and dump. There's a reason why it's illegal.

 

[Porter]

The issue is marketing, massaging, and delivering the product. These have typically been the weaknesses of all large scale industrial/tech Chinese companies that have tried to expand outside of China: BYD, Alibaba, Huawei, Etc. They have some success abroad but it pales in comparison to the scale of these companies in China.

The common factor in all of these failures, from my perspective, is a failure to cater to (or even meaningfully recognize) Western consumer preferences. It's like mainland China managed companies just can't bring themselves to see Western consumers as worthy of service in the same way as their domestic market.

You can see Geely doing this in the absurd CFO interview with Yahoo Finance. What company that actually held any amount of meaningful respect for the marketplace would put that guy in front of a camera and expect a positive market result? It's shocking. And in context, it sort of explains much of the way that they've treated their Western customers over the last 3 years. With disregard, bordering on contempt.