Lotus has confirmed it will ditch its plans to go electric-only in the short term, as part of its newly-announced ‘Focus 2030’ plan.
The Geely-owned British carmaker’s updated strategy promises a “significant reset” based upon brand reinforcement, a multi-powertrain strategy comprising fully electric, plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and internal combustion, close partner collaboration, and “financial discipline”.
As the brand seeks to protect “what makes Lotus, Lotus”, its CEO, Qingfeng Feng, commented: “Lotus was born from the rebellious spirit of Colin Chapman, and that is not lost today.
“Focus 2030 will reset both the brand and the business to keep us true to our DNA. We are obsessed with engineering, obsessed with performance, and obsessed with building drivers’ cars, and that is what will grow this business.”
The strategy sees the brand drop its plan to go all-electric by 2028 in favour of pursuing a 60% PHEV and 40% BEV split in the short term. Lotus insists, however, it is still seeking “a customer-led transition to full electrification” after the start of the next decade.
The car leading the charge is the £84,990 Eletre X, a plug-in hybrid version of its SUV. The Eletre arrived in 2023, and was planned to be EV only by 2028. However, Lotus has been made to pivot and offer it with its X-Hybrid PHEV powertrain.
Already on sale in China under the ‘For Me’ moniker, the Lotus Eletre X will go on sale in Europe this June, with deliveries set for the final quarter of the year. The all-wheel-drive Lotus Eletre X pairs a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with two electric motors to produce a not insignificant 939bhp.
Its electric-only range is a claimed 217 miles courtesy of a 70kWh battery. Lotus says the Eletre X has a total range of 745 miles and a 20-80% charging time of just nine minutes, courtesy of advanced 900V electrical architecture.
Focus 2030 also announced the Type 135. Set to arrive in 2028, this all-new supercar will be powered by a V8 hybrid powertrain capable of producing 986bhp. An updated version of the internal combustion-only, mid-engined Emira sports car will also be announced in the coming weeks.
Nonetheless, Lotus’s £84,990 Emeya performance saloon will remain a pure EV, as will its flagship – the £2m, 2,011bhp Evija hypercar. For fans of the brand, the fact that Geely has said its belief in Lotus “has not wavered” will come as positive news.
Daniel Li, Lotus Technology chairman and Geely executive vice chairman, said: “Geely has believed in Lotus from the beginning, and that belief has not wavered. We are committed to giving Lotus the resources it deserves to compete at the highest level. What Lotus brings is irreplaceable, and Focus 2030 is proof that we take that responsibility seriously. We are excited for the next chapter in the brand’s story.”