The car manufacturer Lotus, which is part of the Chinese Geely Group, wants to significantly improve the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and thus increase acceptance of the purchase of electric cars. The innovative charging stations were developed at the Lotus headquarters in Raunheim (Gross-Gerau district). The British car manufacturer Lotus, founded in 1952, was known for its sports and racing cars. The first Lotus, a MK VI, was sold as a kit. Lotus has an eventful history, for a time it belonged to General Motors and today it is majority owned by the Chinese Geely group. If you look at the models Evija, Emira and Eletre, which are only available with electric drive, as well as the completely new Emeya, the sporty Lotus design is evident in all vehicles. line to be recognized. In terms of technology, they were significantly developed in the branch in the Raunheim industrial area, which has existed since 2018 and where over 200 engineers from 27 countries work at times. New mobility concepts are being developed here. International cooperation Examples include the Lotus Eletre and the Emira, which have now come onto European roads. The electronic components, such as navigation, are groundbreaking. The Hessian development center LTIC in Raunheim works closely with other global Lotus development centers in China and England. Press spokesman Frank Klaas describes the Raunheim location as a “technology hub” because many technical components of the vehicles are developed in Raunheim. The latest product is In addition to the Emeya, there is a charging station where vehicles can be charged much faster than before, also thanks to the effective cooling of the batteries during the charging process, as engineers from Lotus explained during a presentation of the new technology. Shorter charging times “We are fully behind the electronic future “Klaas clarified. That’s why Lotus is doing everything it can to make charging more convenient and faster. As a rule, Lotus vehicles can be charged on the 450 kW columns around twice as fast as other electric cars. In just 14 minutes, a vehicle has already reached 80 percent of its battery capacity and can therefore travel around 400 kilometers. But Lotus not only develops its own charging stations with particularly fast technology, but also offers wall boxes for the home garage, which do not have the performance of a large charging station, but are able to charge a car from 10 to 80 percent in four hours .More on the topic In 2021, Lotus founded a company in China called Lotus Flash Charge, which is dedicated to charging infrastructure and the distribution of innovative charging options. “We want to become the global technology leader and promote the acceptance of e-mobility,” promises Tommi Melkko from Lotus Flash Charge. Hardware and software are also offered to other companies worldwide. The fast charging stations developed in Raunheim are liquid-cooled, which means they have less wear and tear and are said to have a service life of up to 15 years. Lotus’ fast charging systems are already in use in many places in China. There are also charging robots that do the work for the driver: they open the lid for the power supply and automatically connect to the vehicles. But the innovations also have their price: customers have to budget around 110,000 euros for the latest model, which is equipped with many innovations.
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