Lotus launches its own range of EV charging solutions

Charging anxiety remains one of the main barriers to EV adoption, with nearly 80 per cent of the public citing the lack of charging infrastructure as a primary reason for not buying an EV in a survey conducted by the Energy Policy Institute.

Lotus said that their new charging range aims to provide customers with ‘reliability and confidence’ wherever they are driving.

The new suite of EV charging solutions designed for businesses includes:

• A Liquid-Cooled All-in-One DC Charger: a new charger, which offers ultra-fast charging of up to 450 kW. Lotus said that, for instance, when charging their Lotus Eletre R, it can add up to 88.5 miles or 142km of range with approximately five minutes of charge. A 10-80 per cent charge is said to be achieved in 20 minutes, with a range extension of 74 miles or 120km from a five-minute charge when using a 350 kW Rapid Charger.
• A Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet: a modular power cabinet for spaces that require high energy in order to increase efficiency and minimise charging time, such as motorway rest stops. Lotus said it offers power output capabilities of up to 480 kW.
• A Liquid-Cooled Charging Unit: a charging terminal, which when used with the Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet, can charge up to four vehicles at once. The unit has a maximum current output of 600 Amp, which Lotus said can meet the needs of all EV drivers, from a short ‘top-up’ or fast-charge for long distance drives.

Lotus’ fast-charging solutions have already been deployed in China and are expected to roll out across the majority of European countries and Middle East in Q2 2024, with further market availability to be announced in ‘due course.’

The company added that customers will be able to easily upgrade to this power output without additional hardware costs once in-market service providers rollout grid upgrades.

In a statement, Mike Johnstone, CEO at Lotus Group, said: “Over the past six years, Lotus has been investing in the technology and infrastructure to accelerate the transition to electrification. We want to make it easier than ever to own an electric vehicle and with our latest offerings, Lotus is able to provide customers with the confidence to access easy, fast, and efficient charging.”

The announcement of Lotus’ EV charging range follows their Vision80 strategy, announced in 2018, which aims to transform Lotus to an ‘all-electric global luxury technology brand’ by 2028.

Lotus said it is unveiling its new range of charging solutions for the first time in the UK at the London EV Show, taking place at ExCeL from the 28-30 November, 2023.