Lotus delays electric crossover, sports car to focus on hybrids

Lotus won't launch any new model lines for the next two years, instead shifting focus to the launch of new range-extender hybrid models in response to waning demand for electric luxury cars. The brand's new European CEO, Dan Balmer, previously a high-ranking Aston Martin executive and alumni of BMW and Rolls-Royce, confirmed the hiatus on new product launches in his first appearance in the role, following the exit of Mike Johnstone earlier this year. Following the launch of the Eletre SUV in 2023 and the Emeya saloon this year, Lotus was expected to add a Porsche Macan-sized electric crossover, known as Type 134, in 2025; but this car has been put on hold as the company focuses on achieving "stability" by "getting right-sized" and "understanding the markets we compete in". Balmer said that instead of launching the smaller electric SUV to market, Lotus would focus on introducing its new 'Hyper Hybrid' REx powertrains to its existing electric cars and wouldn't give a new date for the Type 134's arrival. "We're not confirming today what the launch timelines are for the next round of products that we're launching, but the market has told us what it wants and when," he explained, referencing Lotus's decision to lower its long-term sales volume ambitions and reverse its decision to go all-electric by introducing REx cars. "It's right that we take a chance to look at the market and what it wants in the new environment that we find ourselves in, with our industrial strategy and with the products in the marketplace that we want to compete in as well." The delay to the Type 134 programme means Lotus will continue past the middle of the decade with a four-car line-up comprising the Eletre and Emeya, the Emira petrol sports car and the Evija electric hypercar, which has now finally started reaching customers following extensive pandemic-induced development delays. Lotus was due to follow the Type 134 with an electric sports car in the vein of the Emira, dubbed the Type 135, but the shift in strategic focus – as well as the constraints imposed by current battery technology – mean that's likely to be pushed back too. Lotus design chief Ben Payne recently told Autocar that "the technology right now does not really allow you to recreate that product in a convincing way" and that the firm would need lighter, more energy-dense batteries to come on stream before launching a lightweight two-seat EV. Asked if that car had now been officially deprioritised as part of Lotus's revised product strategy, Balmer said: "It's fair to say that we have to look at what's available to us at the time when we want to launch that programme. We have to look at the technology available to achieve the attributes that are important to us for those products, and at the right time as well. If we were to do it today, then we don't feel we could achieve that." He added that he could "see a way forward" to launching the Type 135 by the end of the decade but "that depends on the productionisation of new technologies and how fast they come to market". Balmer said Lotus is “reading the room” as it reverses its decision to go all-electric and lowers its global volume targets. He joins the firm as it grapples with heavy financial losses and ailing demand for its two lifestyle-focused luxury EVs. He will be charged with enacting a significantly adjusted business strategy in Europe in response to those headwinds, reporting directly into Group Lotus CEO Qingfeng Feng in China. Feng recently revealed that Lotus will reverse its decision to offer every car besides the Emira exclusively as an EV, introducing a REx powertrain option to certain model lines in a bid to bolster their appeal as demand wanes for luxury EVs. Balmer didn't reveal which models would receive this new ‘Hyper Hybrid’ drivetrain but confirmed that they would be on sale within two years. Given that they will be REx cars, rather than traditional full hybrids or plug-in hybrids, and will continue to use Lotus's EV-specific EPA platform, it's expected that they will retain the fundamental 900V electrical system used in the Emeya and Eletre, with a small-capacity petrol engine serving as a generator to top up the battery on the move. Both the saloon and SUV are expected to be retrofitted with a REx option to compete with the likes of the Porsche Panamera e-Hybrid and Lamborghini Urus SE respectively, while the Type 134 could have it from launch. “We are reading the room,” said Balmer. “The various speeds of EV adoption is changeable across the markets, and we are all working – as an automotive industry – in a very changeable macro-economic situation, with legislation moving around as well. “And like most manufacturers, we’ve made a bet on our technology. Our technology is electrified - we’ve made a pledge to go electric as well, so using electrification as a base, we’re able to develop, in two years time, a hybrid solution for our products.” "We will have a multi-powertrain solution in the marketplace, and that's a question of us reading the room, understanding what the customer wants and being able to react to that demand." Balmer added that the new REx system is “not like today’s hybrids” and will boast “some outstanding attributes” - most notably the ability to ‘flash-charge’ the battery in just five minutes and to offer a combined range of around 700 miles. It is, he said, "the best of both worlds". As well as helping to attract sales from EV-averse luxury car buyers, adding a hybrid option will help Lotus to mitigate the impact of the EU’s new import tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, which don't apply to hybrids. Lotus's decision to adjust its electrification strategy comes alongside a significant adjustment of its global sales volume targets. Under the 'Vision80' transformation plan outlined in 2019, following Lotus's acquisition by Chinese giant Geely, the firm planned to be selling 100,000 cars annually by the time of its 80th anniversary in 2028. Now, in light of the challenges in the luxury EV market and various global trading obstacles, Lotus is setting its sights on a new ambition: more than 30,000 sales in 2026, up from a projected 12,000 this year. This new plan, dubbed 'Win26', has been conceived in recognition that "the linear growth of our previous plan has to adapt to the market conditions that we are meeting", said Balmer. Aside from varying levels of EV demand, Balmer cited trade tariffs as a factor in the decision to lower Lotus's volume projections. Most notably, the 100% import duty that the US has imposed on Chinese-built EVs has forced Lotus to double the price of the Eletre there, so it now competes directly with the Urus and Aston Martin DBX at north of $200,000. Lotus also plans to achieve a 20% gross margin by 2026 and to have achieved a 4% share of the global luxury car ($80,000-plus) market. Helping it to achieve that profit uptick will be the global roll-out of its new Chapman Bespoke programme, a high-margin personalisation service in the same vein as Bentley's Mulliner and Lamborghini's Ad Personam divisions. Freshly launched in China and soon to be available in the US, Chapman Bespoke will be offered to European customers from the middle of next year.

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Lotus delays electric crossover, sports car to focus on hybrids

Porsche Macan-rivalling Type 134 and Elise-style 135 pushed back as firm pauses model launches for two years

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Lotus delays electric crossover, sports car to focus on hybrids

Porsche Macan-rivalling Type 134 and Elise-style 135 pushed back as firm pauses model launches for two years

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