Tag: #AIDANFURLONG

Lotus Launches Charging Solutions for Electric Vehicles

Lotus has launched today its own electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions including an ultra-fast 450 kW DC charger, power cabinet and a modular unit for charging up to four vehicles at once.

Charging anxiety remains one of the main barriers to electric vehicle adoption, with nearly 80% of the public citing the lack of charging infrastructure as a primary reason for not buying an EV in a survey conducted by the Energy Policy Institute. With Lotus’ charging capabilities, the company is providing consumers with reliability and confidence wherever they are driving.

The new suite of EV charging solutions designed for businesses includes:

  • Liquid-Cooled All-in-One DC Charger: a new charger, which offers ultra-fast charging of up to 450 kW. For example, with the Lotus Eletre R, it can add up to 88.5 miles or 142 km of range with approximately 5 minutes of charge making it one of the most competitive electric vehicle chargers. A 10% to 80% charge can be achieved in just 20 minutes with a range extension of 74 miles or 120 kilometres from a 5-minute charge when using a 350 kW Rapid Charger.
  • Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet: a modular power cabinet that is suited for spaces that require high energy in order to increase efficiency and minimise charging time, such as motorway rest stops. It offers market-leading power output capabilities of up to 480 kW.
  • Liquid-Cooled Charging Unit: a charging terminal, which when used with the Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet, can charge up to four vehicles at once. The unit has a maximum current output of 600 Amp, which ensures it is able to meet the needs of all electric vehicle drivers. For instance, if they need a short top-up whilst on the go, or fast-charge for long distance drives, Lotus’ new offering provides them with a convenient solution.

Lotus is using liquid-cooled technologies throughout its suite of commercial charging solutions to make it easier and quicker for EV drivers to charge their vehicles.

Lotus’ fast-charging solutions have already been deployed in China and are expected to roll out across the majority of European countries and Middle East in Q2 2024. Further market availability will be announced in due course.

As charging infrastructure improves over time, Lotus is ensuring its customers are equipped by providing a 450 kW solution. Lotus has futureproofed its charging offering, which is expected to be the next step forward in fast charging when the infrastructure becomes readily available. Lotus customers will be able to easily upgrade to this power output without additional hardware costs once in-market service providers rollout grid upgrades.

Mike Johnstone, Chief Commercial Officer at Lotus Group, said: “Over the past six years, Lotus has been investing in the technology and infrastructure to accelerate the transition to electrification. We want to make it easier than ever to own an electric vehicle and with our latest offerings, Lotus is able to provide customers with the confidence to access easy, fast, and efficient charging.”

Alan Wang, Vice-President of Lotus Technology and CEO at Lotus Flash Charge, said: “As more governments are increasing investment into electrification in their journey to net-zero, the demand for a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure has never been higher than before. Lotus has developed best-in-class fast charging solutions to deliver a quick and reliable charging experience to meet customer needs.”

In 2018, Lotus announced its Vision80 strategy and plans to transform the brand from a British sports car maker to an all-electric global luxury technology brand by 2028. As part of this transition, the company is committed to developing its own range of EV charging solutions.

The company launched its first electric hyper-SUV Eletre in 2022, with customer deliveries across UK, Europe and China taking place this year. Lotus recently launched Emeya, its next-generation electric hyper-GT, in early September 2023.

Both vehicles integrate hardware, software, and cloud capabilities to deve op a full stack of intelligent driving technologies. They also include HD cameras, radar, and high-precision mapping capabilities to allow the vehicles to precisely perceive their environment in a stereoscopic display, providing a smooth drive even in extreme conditions. Lotus will continue to expand its range of premium electric vehicles, as the company looks to scale in this growing market.

Lotus has seen a huge demand for its products, with an orderbook of over 19,000 vehicles for its Emira sports car and Eletre hyper-SUV. The company has ramped up production this year, having had a record-breaking first half of 2023, and expects the full year to surpass all previous years.

Avaya Appoints Aidan Furlong as Country General Manager of Ireland to Accelerate ‘Cloud-First” Strategy

In a move that will help businesses and organisations across Ireland enhance and simplify their communications and collaboration ability, Avaya has appointed Aidan Furlong as its Country General Manger of Ireland. In his new role, Aidan will champion the evolution of new and existing customers and partners to cloud-centric communications and build momentum in the adoption of Avaya solutions as businesses across the island of Ireland increase their digital transformation.

As a previous Channel Manager and Client Director at Avaya Ireland, Aidan has extensive experience in working with the Avaya Partner community to drive growth and mutual success in meeting customer needs. 

 

Speaking for the first time in his new role as Country General Manager of Avaya Ireland, Aidan Furlong said, “I am thrilled to be moving into this position and I look forward to focusing on enterprise and mid-market customers as Avaya transitions to its cloud product portfolio. I anticipate my role to be instrumental in helping to solve customer’s business challenges, together with the extensive Avaya Partner community ecosystem,” 

 

The news follows the announcement of Avaya’s recent Q2 earnings, where the company experienced strong growth across its cloud and SaaS business; with software and services reaching a record 88% of Avaya’s $682 million in revenue, and cloud and subscription revenue increasing to 23% of total revenue. As organisations become more agile in today’s digital and distributed business environment, there will be an increased need for flexible cloud solutions, and Aidan’s appointment will help accelerate the success of Avaya’s global cloud strategy in Ireland.

 

Aidan concluded, “I am proud to work for a company like Avaya, which has a 150 year heritage in business communications technology and is one of the only vendors with this extensive experience of the complexity of today’s UC communications and contact centre solutions built on open systems.” 

 

Commenting on Aidan’s promotion, UK and Ireland Managing Director Steve Joyner, added: “It has been a period of significant investment and growth for us and Aidan’s promotion demonstrates the depth of his experience and expertise. His work is strategically important to our clients and their digital transformation journeys and directly impacts upon the growth of their businesses. I wish him all the very best of luck in his new role.” 

 

Aidan Furlong has worked for Avaya UK & Ireland for over 9 years and brings 35 years of experience in the ICT market to his new position. He is an MBA qualified senior executive with multinational experience of leading sales, channels, marketing, consulting, services and commercial and client operations teams.