Lotus, the sports car maker based in Norfolk, England, was founded by Colin Chapman 75 years ago. While people associate Lotus with many things, high production numbers are not one of them. However, this has changed.
In the first six months of this year, the company reported that its order book for vehicles grew to around 17,000 worldwide. This astonishing figure shattered all previous sales records, greatly surpassing the mere 576 units sold in all of last year. The primary factor responsible for this massive improvement is the all-electric Eletre SUV, which first became available in China in March of this year and will be available in the UK and Europe later this summer.
The most significant reason for this growth is the all-electric Eletre SUV. The vehicle was launched in China in the spring of 2022 and became available to customers in March of this year. UK and European customers can expect to receive their deliveries later this summer.
Made in Geely's factory in Wuhan, China, the Eletre is powered by a battery pack that stores 112 kilowatt hours of energy. This battery pack powers two electric motors, which have an output of 603 horsepower and 524 pound-feet (710 Newton-Meter) of torque in the base version and 905 horsepower and 726 pound-feet (984 Newton-Meter) in the R trim, allowing the car to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) in as little as 2.9 seconds. This vehicle is also priced at approximately $120,000, which places it in the same league as prominent models like the Tesla Model X and the newly unveiled Cadillac Escalade IQ.
Lotus states that the Emira mid-engined sports car has also become very popular. Over 2,200 units of the car have been produced in the United Kingdom during the first six months of this year, which is a 381 percent increase compared to the previous fiscal year 2022.
In the past, the brand known for its lightweight sports cars like the Elise and Exige usually shipped less than 1,500 cars in a year. In 2020, the brand sold 1,378 cars and experienced a 24% increase in sales in 2021 (1,710 units), making it the best sales year in a decade. However, the record has been broken since the Emira alone sold almost the same amount of units in the first half-year as the total output of 2021 and 2022 combined.
Regarding the SUV that produces no emissions, it may not be the preferred choice for those who are devoted to a particular belief or attitude, but the truth is that SUVs are popular, and this popularity helps Lotus to survive and keep producing fascinating sports cars close to the ground, such as the Emira.
Source: Lotus