All-electric, China-made Lotus Eletre SUV could spearhead brand revival

BRITISH carmaker Lotus gave the media a preview of its new high-performance electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Eletre, in Singapore on Monday (Jun 5).

The company intends for the model to spearhead the brand’s efforts to become a mainstream luxury carmaker.

Singapore’s dealer for Lotus, Wearnes Automotive, is expected to launch the car in Singapore late this year or in early 2024. The car will be sold in three versions, the Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R, with pricing expected to start at S$500,000 with a Certificate of Entitlement.

With 603 horsepower (hp) in the standard model to 900 hp in the range-topping Eletre R, it will have a broad range of competitors from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

Coming after the Emira sports car and Evija electric supercar, the Eletre is the third all-new model to be developed under Chinese ownership. Lotus was bought over by Chinese automotive group Geely in 2017.

By capitalising on the current trend for electric SUVs, the Eletre could be the best-selling Lotus to date. 

The International Energy Agency notes that global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) jumped by around 60 per cent in 2022 to surpass 10 million, with SUVs accounting for more than half of those sales.

Lotus has reportedly received 5,000 orders for the car to date. Its representatives did not comment directly on those sales figures, but said that “uptake on the Eletre has been very strong”.

If true, it would make this model the best-selling one in the brand’s history. In 2021, Lotus sold just 1,710 new cars worldwide – already its best performance in a decade.

SEE ALSO

Ford CEO says China main EV rival, not GM, Toyota

Lotus plans to sell almost 100 times as many cars in the next five years through the expansion of its electric-model lineup and by strengthening its network in the Asia-Pacific. 

The Eletre is the first Lotus to be built outside England, and is also the first in a lineup of Lotus “lifestyle” EVs through which the brand will expand its model portfolio.

The brand says it aims to sell 150,000 of these cars a year by 2028. These EVs will be produced by Geely subsidiary Lotus Technologies at a new facility in Wuhan, China, which opened last year.

Lotus representatives told The Business Times that it aims to focus on the launch of the Eletre in established markets in the Asia-Pacific, such as Australia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. It will then expand its network into Indonesia and Vietnam for the first time in late 2024 or early 2025.

Lotus signed a new partnership with the Kolon Mobility Group as its new importer and sole distributor in South Korea last month. A new Lotus Brand Centre will be set up in the Gangnam district of Seoul.