Lotus Tech, which develops cars for the Lotus brand, is working on preliminary plans for an initial public offering in the U.S. or Hong Kong to help fund the transition of the iconic maker of sports and racing cars to an all-electric automaker. The company is studying a potential IPO as soon as 2023 if sales go well, Group Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said in an interview Tuesday. There’s also the possibility that Lotus Cars will list in the U.K., but no timetable has been set, he said. Lotus Tech, which broke ground on its global headquarters in the Chinese city of Wuhan last week, is tapping the potential for sports cars in the world’s biggest auto market against a small pool of competitors including Porsche Automobil Holding SE and BMW AG. Lotus is part of the auto empire of Li Shufu, who founded Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and has long held ambitions of developing top-end sports cars. The unit plays an important role in the group, which offers diverse products ranging from affordable mass-market vehicles to the ultraluxury racing cars made by Lotus.
