• Lotus Cars partners with Stripe to expand its direct-to-consumer sales strategy across Europe.
  
• The iconic brand's first mainstream electric vehicle—the Lotus Eletre—will be its first sold directly to customers in the EU, following its success with a direct sales model in the UK.
  
• Lotus will use Stripe Identity to onboard customers to its sales journey, preventing fraud and minimizing friction for legitimate customers.
  

DUBLIN—Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced that it has been selected by Lotus as an exclusive payments partner for the automaker’s direct-to-consumer sales strategy across mainland Europe. The partnership will kick off with sales of the Eletre, Lotus’s first mainstream electric vehicle and the world’s first electric hyper-SUV.

The direct-to-consumer sales model allows Lotus to build cars to customers’ specifications, reducing the need for retailers to carry high levels of unsold stock and accrue monthly interest charges. Adopting this strategy allows Lotus to own the complete sales cycle, from order to delivery, and offer a more engaging, holistic customer experience.

“The Eletre is Lotus’s first mainstream electric vehicle—and our first SUV. No other car brand has a comparable product in the market and that makes us pioneers,” said Mike Johnstone, chief commercial officer at Lotus. “Customers expect a flawless experience, not just from the car itself, but from the whole purchase journey. We’re pleased to partner with Stripe as its products become an important part of that journey to help us build trust with our global customer base.”

In the past, the financial architecture to support direct-to-consumer car sales was limited and fragmented. Now, Lotus is using Stripe’s payments platform and Stripe Identity to make it easy for consumers to configure, order, and pay for cars online, starting with the Eletre. Lotus customers can also choose their preferred agency from the Lotus network to facilitate the handover. These Lotus Centres will provide service and after-sales support throughout the ownership lifecycle.

Lotus attracted significant interest from customers when it launched direct sales in the UK with the award-winning Lotus Emira sports car last year. With orders for the Eletre now open, Lotus expects its online payments volume in 2023 to increase significantly, establishing the company as a significant player in direct-to-consumer automotive retail.

By partnering with Stripe, Lotus will be able to offer customers payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers, with the flexibility to add more payment methods as the company scales its direct-to-consumer sales model.

“Lotus is a truly iconic British brand that is updating its business model to meet changing consumer preferences. We’re incredibly excited to help Lotus build a new way to sell to its customers—starting with its first ever mainstream electric vehicle,” said Eileen O’Mara, head of global sales at Stripe.