According to the plans of its Chinese mother Geely, Lotus is to become an electric car brand. By 2026, the British carmaker wants to have five electric cars on the road, two SUVs, two sports cars and a four-door coupé sedan.
Lotus had big plans before, in 2010, when it was owned by Proton. At the Paris Motor Show, the Malaysian majority owner presented a whole bunch of sports cars that are said to have a bright future. Esprit, Elan, Elise, Elite, Eterne were sports cars with six and eight-cylinder engines and outputs of up to 620 hp.
Story. In 2017, Geely incorporated Lotus. The Chinese believe in the seemingly everlasting appeal of the British sports car brand. Lotus still stands for lightweight construction and minimalism, the credo of its founder Colin Chapman, but also for Formula 1 and famous names such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti and Jochen Rindt. Also unforgettable are the Lotus cars in the black and gold John Player Special design. Every child knew the striking racing cars.
Lotus is now a niche player. In 2021, just 1.600 vehicles were sold. Rolls-Royce manages more than three times as many. But in just seven years, the Lotus world should look completely different. An annual output of over 100.000 vehicles is planned - exclusively electric. In Hethel, England, the headquarters of Lotus, everyone knows only too well that this will only be possible, if at all, with a globally leading vehicle category, the SUV. During the realignment, the Lotus strategists are likely to have dealt intensively with Lamborghini. Their Urus has become a bestseller since its debut. So what was more obvious, starting precisely in this high-margin segment? The result is called the Eletre (internally Type 132), a full-size electric SUV, 5,10 meters long, weighs two tons, three meters wheelbase, five doors, five seats, all-wheel drive. More contrast to the past is hardly possible. "The Eletre has the soul of a Lotus and the user-friendliness of an SUV," Managing Director Matt Windle told the invited guests at the premiere at the BBC studios in London at the end of March.
Technically, the performance SUV, built in China, is based on an 800-volt platform, the EPA (Electric Premium Architecture). The Eletre was developed for the most part in the former GATD (Geely Auto Technical Germany) in Raunheim, Hesse. Today the LTIC (Lotus Technical Innovation Center) is located there and employs over 200 engineers. Battery capacities of up to 120 kWh are planned for the Eletre, which would enable a range of almost 600 kilometers. The charging performance was designed to be correspondingly high (up to 350 kW). In the best-case scenario, a range of 400 kilometers should be “top up” in just 20 minutes. Pre-series models are currently being tested on the Nürburgring, among other places, and the British want to launch the Eletre in early 2023.
However, this model is not Lotus' first electric car. The Evija made its debut in 2019, a 130 hp flounder (Type 2,5) limited to just 2.000 units and costing over 130 million euros. Lotus speaks confidently of the "first British all-electric hypercar".
Type 2024 is expected to roll to dealerships in early 133. Behind this code is a four-door and all-electric coupe sedan that also carries the EPA platform under it, but will get slightly less battery capacity. Lotus positions the Type 133 against the Porsche Taycan, while targeting the next Macan with the Type 134, a mid-size crossover.
And last but not least, Lotus is considering an electric entry-level sports car, which is already being treated as a worthy successor to the Elise. Under the code Type 135, a two-seater is to be created that LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture) platform uses. However, it not only serves as the technical basis for the Elise, but will also be used by a sports car brand in France. Alpine is developing the next A110 based on the new Lotus technology.