Lotus has just presented the main outlines of its electric offensive for the coming years and confirmed the launch of four 100% electric models until 2026.
The first of these four models will be an SUV — something that has been whispered for many years — and is expected to arrive on the market in 2022. It is a proposal for the E-segment (where the Porsche Cayenne or Maserati Levante reside) and that it is known internally by the codename Type 132.
A year later, in 2023, a four-door coupé will enter the scene — also aimed at the E segment, where proposals such as the Mercedes-AMG GT 4 Doors or the Porsche Panamera live — which has already been christened with the code name Type 133 .
In 2025 we will discover the Type 134, a second SUV, this time for the D-segment (Porsche Macan or Alfa Romeo Stelvio), and finally, the following year, the Type 135, a brand new 100% electric sports car will hit the market , developed in socks with Alpine.
This announcement was made during the official launch of Lotus Technology's world headquarters, a new division of the Lotus Group whose main mission is to “accelerate” innovation in the field of batteries, battery management, electric motors and autonomous driving.
This Lotus Technology “headquarters”, located in Wuhan, China, will be completed in 2024 and will be “companyed” with a completely new facility designed to produce Lotus electrics for global markets.
If all goes as planned, this production unit will be operational in the last quarter of this year and will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles.
electric armada on the way
Two of the four new electric models planned by 2026 will be produced at Lotus' new factory in China, but the British brand has yet to specify which ones.
For now, it is only known that the long-awaited Type 135 sports model, the one developed in collaboration with Alpine, will be manufactured in 2026 in Hethel, UK.
These four new models will join the Lotus Evija, the British brand's electric hyper sports car, and the new Emira, Lotus' latest sports car with an internal combustion engine. Both will be produced in the UK.