Lotus will definitely sell its forthcoming plug-in hybrids in Europe following the global unveiling of the first such model in January, its CEO has confirmed.
The first Lotus PHEV, expected to be a version of the Eletre large SUV, will pack 912bhp and come with air suspension and an active stabiliser for “ultimate handling” ability, Feng Qingfeng said on the company’s 24 November earnings call.
Sales will start in China in the first quarter of 2026, with a European launch expected in autumn.
Lotus pivoted to PHEVs after sluggish take-up of EVs in the premium and luxury segments forced the company to ditch its plan to go all-electric by 2028.
“The introduction of hybrid models offers more choice for luxury vehicle buyers and will help us expand into broader markets, including regions with slower EV adoption, such as Italy and Spain and Saudi Arabia,” Feng said on the call.
The move will also allow the Geely-owned company to avoid the EU’s higher tariffs on Chinese-built EVs.
Luxury brands, led by Bentley and Lamborghini, have embraced PHEV technology as a way to reduce emissions while retaining customer-valued V8 engines and inject yet more performance.
In the first nine months of the year, PHEVs accounted for 68% of Bentley’s production and 90% of Lamborghini’s.
Lotus has said it will launch three PHEVs, including a new smaller SUV below the Eletre in 2027 that has been dubbed Vision X.
Lotus has made a series of bold claims for its so-called Hyper Hybrid technology, which features a 900V electrical architecture to enable charging speeds “very similar to a battery swap”, Feng said.
The combustion engine can also top up the battery on the move, Lotus has confirmed. No details have been revealed about said engine, but it’s likely to be a high-powered turbocharged four.
Under Geely, Lotus has struggled to find a way to convert its sizeable investment into profit. The company posted an operating loss of $357 million for the first nine months of the year, amid a concerted effort to reduce costs.
The new PHEV models will help Lotus increase profitability, its CFO Daxue Wang said on the November earnings call.
Wholesale deliveries (those to dealers) fell 40% in the first nine months of the year to 4612, partly hit by US tariffs. In the UK, sales fell 27% to 1222 to the end of October after demand for the best-selling Eletre and the Emira sports car dropped.
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