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If we told you three years ago that an all-electric Lotus SUV was in the pipeline, you’d call us mad. Then, if we told you the brand would develop a new platform – not something poached from its Chinese parent company, Geely, which includes Volvo and Polestar – it would be downright unbelievable, but here it is, and it’s called the Lotus Eletre (from $189,990 plus on-road costs).
We can only assume several sleepless nights were had at the brand’s new global headquarters in Wuhan, China, as it prepares to flip the brand on its head to become a key player in the EV premium lifestyle market.
The news of a Lotus SUV arrives as the final Lotus internal combustion-engined vehicle, the Emira, rolls off the production line alongside the Evija all-electric hypercar in Hethel, UK. The brand is gearing up to 150,000 vehicles a year by introducing this Lotus Eletre (Type 132), Emeya (Type 133), and the potential for a Type 134 and Type 135 sportscar to follow.
Like other premium Chinese car brands entering the Australian market, including brands like Xpeng and Zeekr, we predict you’ll see many more Lotus cars on the road. Managing Director of Lotus Group Matt Windle (former Principal Engineer for Tesla Motors 2005-2012) calls the Eletre “a momentous point in our history”, and when you look at what the future might hold for the brand, he’s probably right.
Lotus Eletre Power and Charging
The range starts with the standard Lotus Eletre (from $189,990 plus on-road costs), followed by the Lotus Eletre S ($229,990), which produces the same horsepower but comes with more standard equipment, and finally, the flagship Lotus Eletre R (from $279,990 plus on-road costs), which has more than 900 horsepower. Considering the Tesla Model X is no longer sold in Australia, these headline power and performance figures are unique to our market.
Charging times for the 112kWh battery used in both models will be as low as 20 minutes using a 350kW changer. The maximum WLTP driving range is 600km in the Eletre and Eletre S, while the more powerful Eletre R has 490km. The ability to accept 22kw AC charging (the more powerful home-charging alternative) is also a great addition, meaning 0-100 per cent charges overnight.
These range figures are achieved with a slippery design that includes actual vents (although no drag coefficient has been stated) and even a pop-out LIDAR system that will lead the way for the new ‘track-level intelligent drive’ said to make the average driver “perform as well as an F1 driver on track.”
Lotus Eletre Price and Specs for Australia
| Lotus Eletre | Lotus Eletre S | Lotus Eletre R | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price $AU (plus on-road costs) | $189,990 | $229,990 | $279,990 |
| Power | 603HP | 603HP | 905HP |
| Battery | 112kWh | 112kWh | 112kWh |
| Charging time 10-80% (350kW DC) | 20 minutes | 20 minutes | 20 minutes |
| 0-100km/h | 4.5 seconds | 4.5 seconds | 2.95 seconds |
| Max range (WLTP) | 600km | 600km (using optional 20-inch wheels) | 490km (using optional 20-inch wheels) |
What’s the Lotus Eletre Like on the Inside?
On the inside, there’s a noticeable resemblance to the Tesla Model X with the lack of a traditional instrument cluster. However, unlike the Tesla, you gain a thin 30mm strip for driving information in front of the driver. There’s also an augmented reality heads-up display that is standard for the driver.
It’s hard to look past the enormous, 15.1-inch OLED touchscreen where most features (95 per cent) are controlled through the touchscreen in under three touches.
Being a premium lifestyle vehicle, the 2,160-watt, 23-speaker KEF sound system will make you immediately forget the lack of engine noise.
There’s no tiptoeing around the fact that Geely is moving the Lotus brand into a whole new automotive segment and that the Emira sportscar was merely a tip-of-the-hat send-off to everything enthusiasts have known and loved about Lotus cars for decades. There’s no “make the SUV to feed the sportscar” Porsche Cayenne strategy here; Lotus has rebranded.
It remains to be seen if the Australian market has an appetite for a $200,000 electric SUV not made in Europe and from a traditional player in the premium market dominated by BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche, but we’d be surprised if the Eletre weren’t a sales success. If this is the basis for the future of Lotus cars, they’ll have no trouble reaching their manufacturing targets of 150,000 vehicles – we’ve seen first-hand how successful Chinese-owned brands have been in the Australian car market.
Lotus Cars Australia says the Eletre S and Eletre R production commenced in April, with MY24 cars due to ship in May and arrive in Australia towards the end of June 2024. If you want to get your hands on the entry-level Eletre, which was previously scheduled to commence in 2025, production has been brought forward to Q3 2024, and the brand says there’s a strong chance vehicles will be available before the end of 2024.
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