Hethel brand’s EV era will ramp up with a saloon packing up to 904bhp, a compact SUV and a ‘pure’ sports car
JAMES ATTWOOD
Lotus will accelerate its reinvention as an EV-only premium brand in the next three years with the arrivals of a new electric saloon and crossover designed to dramatically increase its sales volume – followed by a new line-up-crowning sports car that will affirm its performance credentials.
These three models will follow the new Eletre, which is both the British firm’s first series-production EV and its first SUV. Lotus is now owned by Chinese car giant Geely, which has invested heavily in ramping up the facilities at two sites. The Lotus base in Hethel, Norfolk, will remain home to sports car production, while the higher-volume EVs will be produced at a new Lotus Technology facility in Wuhan, China.
That facility has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units, which Lotus has set as its annual sales target for 2028 onwards. Production there will be split between the Eletre, a new electric saloon codenamed Type 133 and a smaller crossover known as Type 134. These models represent the core of the boldest product offensive in Lotus’s 75-year history and will push its annual sales to unprecedented levels.
Deliveries of the Eletre – a rival to the Porsche Cayenne and Lamborghini Urus – have just begun in China and the model is set to arrive in Europe in the coming months. It uses Lotus’s bespoke Electric Premium Architecture (EPA), an aluminium-based platform that can accept a wide range of battery sizes and powertrain layouts and will be shared with the next two models.
Type 133 to take on Taycan
Set to be revealed late this year, the Type 133 will be the first Lotus performance saloon since the early-1990s Vauxhall-based Carlton and is set to be particularly popular in China and the US – crucial markets for Lotus. Around five metres long, the Porsche Taycan rival will be positioned as the most luxurious model in the firm’s line-up.
The Type 133 is in the late stages of development. Test versions have been spotted on the road in a promotional camouflage livery and late prototypes are already going down Wuhan’s production line.
The Type 133 will be similar in size to the Polestar 5 grand tourer due on sale next year, but Lotus managing director Matt Windle has previously said that while there is some technology transfer, Geely allows its brands, which include Polestar, to conduct development independently. This means the models will be tangibly differen
