Official: Lotus abandons EV-only policy for now

Performance of Lotus in 2024

Lotus delivered a total of 8,631 vehicles in the first 10 months of 2024. That seems low, but for a brand like Lotus, that’s pretty okay. Only the profit figures need to be better.

Qingfeng Feng, Chief Executive Officer, of Lotus

“We continued to achieve strong operational growth, with total deliveries of 7,617 units in the first nine months of 2024, up 136% year-on-year, driven by the European market,” said Qingfeng Feng, Chief Executive Officer, of Lotus. “We are pleased to see significant progress in our intelligent driving business around the world, with the company’s revenue from customers other than Lotus increasing to $11 million with a year-on-year growth of 450%, which is about 2% of total revenue. We also launched Hyper Hybrid EV technology in line with changing market demand. We remain committed to implementing the ‘Win26’ plan to drive efficiency and competitiveness and deliver sustainable value for our shareholders and investors.”

900V Hyper Hybrid EV technology

Okay, the observant reader must have noticed the term “Hyper Hybrid EV technology. What exactly does that mean? Lotus has presented so-called 900V Hyper Hybrid EV technology at the Guangzhou Auto Show. This 900V Hyper Hybrid EV technology features a hybrid electric powertrain and dual Hyper Charging technology: ultra-fast plug-in charging and ultra-fast on-the-drive charging, both with – according to the manufacturer – industry-leading charging speeds.

Which models?

Hyper Hybrid technology enables high performance, high efficiency and a total range of over 1,100 kilometers. It is still unclear which models Lotus plans to equip with its new hybrid technology. In terms of packaging, the Eletre and Emeya are obvious candidates, but for a sports car like the Emira, we honestly don’t see it happening. The future will tell.