(March 31, 2022) LONDON — The ongoing transformation of Lotus to a truly global performance car brand has reached its most significant milestone yet. The all-new and all-electric Lotus Eletre is a striking and progressive Hyper-SUV — the first of a new breed of pure electric SUVs. It takes the core principles and Lotus DNA from more than 70 years of sports car design and engineering, evolving them into a desirable all-new lifestyle car for the next generation of Lotus customers.


The high-performance SUV is the automaker’s first five-door vehicle. It will be an electric rival to luxury SUVs powered by powered internal-combustion engines such as the Porsche Cayenne, Aston Martin DBX and Lamborghini Urus. The Eletre marks the U.K. sport-car brand’s embrace of two big industry trends — electric power and high-riding SUVs.

“It’s a significant transformation that has never been undertaken in the automotive industry before,” Lotus Cars CEO Matt Windle said during a preview of the vehicle.

The company’s famed expertise in the fields of ride and handling, steering and optimized aerodynamics have been carefully and respectfully evolved. The Eletre takes the heart and soul of the latest Lotus sports car — the Emira — and the revolutionary aero performance of the all-electric Evija hypercar, and reinterprets them as a Hyper-SUV.

Known until two days ago only by its Lotus codename, Type 132, the Eletre is a globally relevant product, a shining halo of sustainable mobility for a worldwide audience. Embodying emotion, intelligence and prestige, it extends the reach of the Lotus name, badge and renowned driver engagement to a new audience.

A bold new dimension to the Lotus performance car portfolio, the Eletre delivers a significant number of firsts for Lotus – the first five-door production car, the first model outside sports car segments, the first lifestyle EV, the most ‘connected’ Lotus ever. And yet it remains a true Lotus, a beautiful car ‘carved by air’, packed with pioneering technology, genuine sporting performance and simplicity of purpose, designed and developed by a passionate and global team. The Lotus Eletre is alive with character and personality.

The Eletre is 4WD, has a battery capacity that’s over 100kWh and with power from 600 horsepower. A 350kW charger will deliver a 248 miles range in just 20 minutes. The car’s target maximum WLTP driving range is 373 miles. It also comes with the ability as standard to accept 22kW AC charging which, where available, reduces the time plugged in.

Technology includes the most advanced active aerodynamics package on any production SUV, and intelligent driving technologies such as the world’s first deployable Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system in a production car.



Add in a dynamic walk-up sequence that delivers a moment of theatre every time the driver approaches the car, and it’s clear the Eletre is making a simple statement – this is Lotus reinvented, the birth of a new icon into the Lotus stable.

Matt Windle, managing director, Lotus Cars, commented: “The Eletre is a bold and revolutionary new car, delivering on our commitment to move Lotus into completely new automotive segments as we widen our global appeal and accessibility. This is a momentous point in our history and a clear signal of our ongoing desire to transform our business. It is a true Lotus, and we’re confident it will delight performance car customers and offer a distinct alternative to the segment’s established players. The Eletre has the soul of a Lotus and the usability of an SUV. Alongside the Emira sports car, this is the perfect two-car garage from Lotus.”

The Eletre is the first in a new range of premium lifestyle performance electric vehicles to be built at an all-new state-of-the-art production facility in Wuhan, China. The car has been ‘Born British, Raised Globally’, with design led by the UK, supported by collaborative work with teams in China, Sweden and Germany. The overall exterior and interior design has been led by an international team based at the Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) in Warwickshire, UK.