Lotus released a teaser photo showing four new fully electric models, planned to arrive between 2022 and 2026 while announcing the new Lotus Technology subsidiary with its headquarters opening in 2024. The Geely-owned British carmaker will soon complete its new Wuhan EV factory in China with a capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles for global markets.
Starting with the upcoming models, all of them will be based on the upcoming Lotus Premium architecture. This platform can accommodate C-Segment and E-Segment vehicles with a wheelbase ranging from 2,889 mm up to 3,100 mm however this can be expanded further in the future. The new electric Lotus models will use 92-120 kWh batteries with 800V technology, and they will be capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in less than three seconds.
Lotus’ EV range expansion will start with an E-segment SUV, internally called Type 132, which will premiere in 2022. The high-riding model, which can be seen on the left of the image above, will be followed by its four-door coupe (Type 133) variant in 2023. The shadowy teaser doesn’t reveal much besides the silhouette of the cars and the LED graphics on the headlights. We can also see door mirror-replacing cameras and a grille-less look for the front, communicating the electric powertrain. While Lotus hasn’t revealed pricing or performance data for the upcoming models, we guess they will be direct rivals to the Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan and SUV, the Tesla Model S and Model X, the upcoming BMW i5, and iX5 plus the Porsche Taycan.
The next couple of models will be a D-Segment SUV (Type 134) coming in 2025 and a fully electric sportscar (Type 135) in 2026. The first seems to bear similarities with its bigger brother but it comes with a more aerodynamic body and smaller exterior dimensions. It will rival the likes of the upcoming Porsche Macan EV, BMW iX3, Tesla Model Y, Audi Q6, and Mercedes-Benz EQC.
Last but not least, Lotus’ first fully-electric sportscar – considering that the Evija is a hypercar – will feature an aggressive stance with wide fenders and mid-engined proportions. This one will be developed in collaboration with Alpine, which will also offer a sister model.
