EV Firm Lotus Tech Slashes Annual Deliveries Forecast as EU, US Tariffs Weigh

British sports car maker Lotus unveils its new fully-electric "Emeya" Hyper-GT in New York City, US, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs Purchase Licensing Rights
British sports car maker Lotus unveils its new fully-electric "Emeya" Hyper-GT in New York City, US, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs Purchase Licensing Rights
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EV Firm Lotus Tech Slashes Annual Deliveries Forecast as EU, US Tariffs Weigh

British sports car maker Lotus unveils its new fully-electric "Emeya" Hyper-GT in New York City, US, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs Purchase Licensing Rights
British sports car maker Lotus unveils its new fully-electric "Emeya" Hyper-GT in New York City, US, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs Purchase Licensing Rights

EV firm Lotus Technology slashed its deliveries forecast for the year by more than 50% on Wednesday, citing uncertainty posed by new tariffs in the United States and the European Union.

Import tariffs imposed by the European Union, the United States and Canada on China-made EVs have added pressure on companies manufacturing their vehicles in China, adding to costs.

"After assessment of the evolving market conditions, and uncertainties posed by new tariff policies in US and EU, the company has revised its delivery target for 2024 to 12,000 units," the company said, according to Reuters.

The company is headquartered in the Chinese city of Wuhan and produces cars through a partnership with parent firm Geely .

Lotus Tech, which focuses on all-electric lifestyle vehicles, is part of British sports car maker Lotus Group, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely and Malaysia's Etika Automotive.

The company was valued at about $7 billion in a deal with a special purpose acquisition company when it went public in February, but its value has since fallen to about $3.8 billion.

After China and Europe, the company began taking orders for the Eletre SUV in markets across the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.

Deliveries for the three months ended June 30 stood at 2,679 units, compared with 2,194 vehicles in the first quarter.

Revenue for the second quarter was $225 million, compared with $111 million a year earlier.

Lotus Tech said its net loss widened to $202 million in the April-June period from $193 million a year earlier.

Its plans to expand and entry into new regions have led to higher selling and marketing expenses, which rose 73% to $204.3 million in the quarter.



Dutch Watchdog Fines Uber $324 Million for Alleged Inadequate Protection of Drivers’ Data 

An Uber sign is displayed at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
An Uber sign is displayed at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
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Dutch Watchdog Fines Uber $324 Million for Alleged Inadequate Protection of Drivers’ Data 

An Uber sign is displayed at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
An Uber sign is displayed at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)

The Dutch data protection watchdog slapped a 290 million euro ($324 million) fine Monday on ride-hailing service Uber for allegedly transferring personal details of European drivers to the United States without adequate protection. Uber called the decision flawed and unjustified and said it would appeal.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority said the data transfers spanning more than two years amounted to a serious breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires technical and organizational measures aimed at protecting user data.

“In Europe, the GDPR protects the fundamental rights of people, by requiring businesses and governments to handle personal data with due care,” Dutch DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement.

“But sadly, this is not self-evident outside Europe. Think of governments that can tap data on a large scale. That is why businesses are usually obliged to take additional measures if they store personal data of Europeans outside the European Union. Uber did not meet the requirements of the GDPR to ensure the level of protection to the data with regard to transfers to the US. That is very serious.”

The case was initiated by complaints from 170 French Uber drivers, but the Dutch authority issued the fine because Uber’s European headquarters is in the Netherlands.

Uber insisted it did nothing wrong.

“This flawed decision and extraordinary fine are completely unjustified. Uber’s cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR during a 3-year period of immense uncertainty between the EU and US. We will appeal and remain confident that common sense will prevail,” the company said in a statement.

The alleged breach came after the EU’s top court ruled in 2020 that an agreement known as Privacy Shield that allowed thousands of companies — from tech giants to small financial firms — to transfer data to the United States was invalid because the American government could snoop on people’s data.

The Dutch data protection agency said that following the EU court ruling, standard clauses in contracts could provide a basis for transferring data outside the EU, “but only if an equivalent level of protection can be guaranteed in practice.”

“Because Uber no longer used Standard Contractual Clauses from August 2021, the data of drivers from the EU were insufficiently protected,” the watchdog said. It added that Uber has been using the successor to Privacy Shield since the end of last year, ending the alleged breach.