- Lotus and ECARX select navigation service with over-the-air update capabilities to enable an upgradable premium driving experience.
- Lotus ELETRE – Lotus’ pure electric hyper-SUV – is the first vehicle in Europe to offer EV Routing, EV Range Assistant and Predictive Routing with HERE Navigation to help mitigate EV range anxiety.
Hethel, London and Amsterdam – HERE Technologies, the leading location data and technology platform, has been chosen by Lotus and ECARX to deliver integrated navigation services to the recently launched Lotus ELETRE, the automaker’s first pure electric hyper-SUV.
HERE Navigation delivers an upgradable and premium navigation experience
HERE Navigation is a software-as-a-service, cloud-native navigation solution for connected vehicles. The HERE solution cuts automotive development and lifecycle costs by offering innovative, turn-key functionalities – including online and offline search, real-time traffic, and turn-by-turn voice guidance.
With HERE Navigation, the Lotus ELETRE’s navigation experience can be updated over-the-air, ensuring that drivers have access to the very latest version. Additionally, Lotus and ECARX are using the HERE Software Development Kit (SDK) to integrate HERE Navigation into the Lotus Hyper OS mobile application for drivers to have an end-to-end navigation experience, inside and outside the vehicle.
Lotus ELETRE is the first vehicle in Europe to offer HERE Navigation EV features to mitigate range anxiety
Electric Vehicle (EV) range anxiety – the fear of running out of energy on a journey and not being able to find a charging point – is one of the major barriers to large-scale consumer adoption of electric vehicles. Lotus is mitigating EV anxiety with its pure electric hyper-SUV as the first vehicle in Europe to offer EV Routing, EV Range Assistant and Predictive Routing through HERE Navigation.
HERE EV Routing is tailored for the Lotus ELETRE’s battery consumption model to deliver the optimal route while minimizing the number of charging stops. HERE EV Routing and Range Assistant incorporate road topography, geometry, historical and real-time traffic data when calculating routes and battery range. HERE EV Routing leverages HERE EV Charge Points, a global database of EV charging locations, plug characteristics and near real-time availability.
The Lotus ELETRE will also utilize Predictive Routing that learns individual driving patterns, such as departure times, destinations and routes, to offer more personalized journeys. Predictive Routing automatically offers alternative routes or departure times based on real-time traffic and road conditions.
ECARX digital cockpit head unit specifically developed for the Lotus ELETRE
HERE Navigation runs on the ECARX digital cockpit head unit that has been developed specifically for the new Lotus ELETRE model. It is the first digital cockpit to run a dual system-on-a-chip that increases processing speeds to support multiple simultaneous applications.
“Lotus and HERE combine the full capabilities of a connected navigation system together with the unique Lotus digital user experience to deliver a world-class navigation solution,” said Serino Angellotti, Senior Chief Engineer at Lotus Tech Innovation Centre. “For its first electric SUV, Lotus would settle for nothing but the best, and with HERE Technologies on board, we offer our customers the best of both worlds while having the flexibility to design and manage the driving experience ourselves. We look forward to continuously updating our vehicles over-the-air, always providing our drivers with the freshest navigation experience.”
“We are proud that Lotus and ECARX have chosen HERE Navigation for the launch of their first electric high-performance SUV, the most technically advanced Lotus ever,” said Fred Hessabi, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at HERE Technologies. “Lotus ELETRE is the first vehicle in Europe to have access to such an extensive range of features that will help make EV anxiety a thing of the past. By choosing HERE Navigation with EV and Predictive Routing as well as EV Range Assistant, Lotus is setting new standards in innovation when it comes to navigation.”
“By working in close collaboration with Lotus from the earliest stage of the Lotus ELETRE’s development cycle, ECARX has delivered an advanced digital head unit that can support a range of applications designed to continuously improve the customer experience over time. The integration of HERE Navigation demonstrates the flexibility of the system to incorporate a range of driver services,” said Ziyu Shen, Chairman and Chief Executive at ECARX.
Media Contacts
HERE Technologies
Dr. Zara Barlas
+49 175 260 6210
zara.barlas@here.com
Lotus Cars
Richard Yarrow
+44 7471 994525
ryarrow@lotuscars.com
ECARX
Nikki Rooke
+44 7790 019518
Nikki.rooke@ecarxgroup.com
About HERE Technologies
HERE, the leading location data and technology platform, moves people, businesses and cities forward by harnessing the power of location. By leveraging our open platform, we empower our customers to achieve better outcomes – from helping a city manage its infrastructure or a business optimize its assets to guiding drivers to their destination safely. To learn more about HERE, please visit www.here.com and http://360.here.com.
About Lotus
Lotus Cars is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, and is the global HQ for sports car and hypercar manufacturing operations, Lotus Advanced Performance and the iconic 2.2-mile test track. Lotus Cars builds world-class high-performance cars, born out of legendary success on the racetrack including 13 FIA Formula 1 world titles and many other championship honours. In July 2021 Lotus unveiled the all-new Lotus Emira, its last petrol-powered sports car and best-of-breed, and in July 2019 it launched the Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. Customer deliveries of both cars will begin during 2022. In March 2022 Lotus revealed the Eletre, the world’s first all-electric hyper-SUV. Customer deliveries will begin in 2023. The Lotus Type 135, an all-electric sports car, is currently being designed and engineered at Hethel.
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive consultancy services to many of the world’s OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. It is internationally recognised for its long-standing contribution to ground-breaking engineering and innovative vehicle development. Its expertise extends beyond automotive; in August 2021 a Lotus Engineering-developed track bike helped Team GB’s cyclists win seven medals, including three golds, at the Tokyo Olympics. An international consultancy with offices around the world, Lotus Engineering is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre on the University of Warwick’s Wellesbourne Campus in the UK.
Lotus Tech is an affiliate company of Group Lotus, established as part of the Vision80 strategy established in 2018. With operational assets across China, the UK and Europe, Lotus Tech is dedicated to delivering smart lifestyle battery electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the Lotus ELETRE. Lotus Tech is focused on R&D in next-generation automobility technologies such as electrification, digitalisation and more. In addition to the Lotus ELETRE, Lotus Tech plans to launch further BEV models including a sports sedan (Type 133) another SUV (Type 134) and more, as Vision80 reaches maturity in 2028.
Group Lotus is either the parent company of or affiliated with the above. In 2017, Geely Holding Group, one of the fastest growing automotive group in the world, acquired a 51% stake in Group Lotus. The other 49% is owned by Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate.
About ECARX
ECARX is transforming vehicles into seamlessly integrated information, communications and transportation devices. It is shaping the interaction between people and cars by rapidly advancing the technology at the heart of smart mobility. ECARX’s current core products include infotainment head units (IHU), digital cockpits, vehicle chip-set solutions, a core operating system and integrated software stack. Beyond this, ECARX is developing a full-stack automotive computing platform.
Over the last three years, ECARX’s technology has been integrated into more than 3.7 million cars worldwide. ECARX was founded in 2017 and has since grown to nearly 2,000 team members globally. The co-founders are two automotive entrepreneurs, Chairman and CEO Ziyu Shen and Eric Li (Li Shufu), who is also the founder and chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely), one of the largest automotive groups in the world that holds ownership interest and investment in international brands such as Lotus, Lynk & Co, Polestar, smart and Volvo Cars.
In May 2022, ECARX entered into a merger agreement with COVA Acquisition Corp. and, upon completion of the transaction, expects to be listed on Nasdaq. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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