Lotus Eletre News

In the years since the likes of GWM and MG established a beachhead for Chinese automotive brands in the local new car market a slew of others have followed.Economics 101 says increased competition in a mature market will quickly stimulate activity, generating big winners and significant losers.And the reality of 2025’s vehicle registration data, compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI VFacts) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), has graphically validated that economic theory.More than 30 of the 60 passenger car and light commercial brands monitored by VFacts and the EVC went backwards in terms of sales volume in 2025 compared to 2024.But the winners were BIG, the top two improvers experiencing spectacular growth; the overall champ almost sending the needle off the clock.Of course, some were coming off a relatively small sales base, with increasing supply and expanding model line-ups inflating percentage figures. So, for context, we’ll also note outright volume increases and only include brands that recorded full-year sales in 2024.Here are our top five countdowns for biggest new car sales winners and losers in 2025.5) Rolls-Royce: Okay, it’s 13 extra cars for 2025 over 2024, but when each one of them retails for a minimum of $700K that’s some handy incremental profit margin. Obviously, for a select few it’s a case of ‘cost-of-living crisis be damned’, with no less than eight extra Cullinan SUVs and the same number of sedans finding a home last year. 4) Mini: A big year for Mini, including a major JCW-focused refresh across the range as well as a burst of sales for the pure-electric Aceman line-up. There were substantial boosts for the Cabrio (+100 per cent), Cooper (+45.2 per cent) and Countryman (+19 per cent).   3) Polestar: It was a case of swings and roundabouts for the Swedish EV specialist with the Polestar 2 liftback dropping sales while the larger 3 and 4 SUVs expanded total numbers by close to 40 per cent. Stand by for the performance-focused Polestar 5 GT’s impact when it arrives here mid-year.2) BYD: Market appetite for BYD’s products grew in parallel with its model range, the Chinese giant’s Aussie line-up expanding from four to eight models. Newcomers like the Atto 1, Atto 2 and Sealion 7 grew its share of the pie dramatically, but the star of the show was the Shark 6 hybrid ute, racking up more than 18,000 sales for the year.1) Chery: The sharply-priced Tiggo 4 Pro small SUV has proved a smash hit for Chery with sales building steadily over 2025, to the point where it’s nipping at the heels of the category-leading Hyundai Kona and MG ZS. Adding the large Tiggo 9 large SUV also delivered handy incremental sales.5) Suzuki: Despite the addition of the Fronx small hybrid SUV mid-year (which captured a handy 1667 sales) the evergreen Japanese brand went backwards in 2025, with stocks of the discontinued Ignis dwindling, Swift sales decreasing and even the cult-favourite Jimny in decline.   4) Jaguar: Kind of a no-brainer given the brand very publicly pulled the pin on production of everything except the F-Pace SUV for 12 months in preparation for a new, more premium range ramping up through 2026 and 2027. The big surprise is sales of the E-Pace growing four per cent year-on-year despite the manufacturing halt. Must have been a few in stock.  3) Maserati: Sales volume dropping by close to a third is rarely a good thing but with the Maserati Levante SUV falling off the radar there weren’t enough Grecale SUV buyers ready to pick up the slack. The Granturismo and Grancabrio coupe and convertible GTs were also missing in action creating a low ebb for the iconic Italian. 2) Jeep: Speaking of iconic brands, Jeep has been fighting well-publicised head winds in its US home market thanks to a seemingly ill-advised move to a more premium positioning with prices to match. Despite a slight sales uptick for the Grand Cherokee as it leaves the local stage, serious falls for the Wrangler 4WD and Gladiator ute also took the wind out of Jeep’s sales here.1) Lotus: Who would have thought a brand famous for simplifying and adding lightness in producing race-ready sports cars would be punished for heading down the pure-electric path with a heavy SUV (Eletre) and big four-door GT (Emeya). Even the internal-combustion mid-engine Emira (despite a stay of production execution) dropped by more than 50 per cent.   

This new hybrid from Lotus is about the opposite of what the brand's founders would have wanted.

Prompted by this week’s announcement of an MG ute, here are some of today’s most egregious examples of new cars or latest models that might have their founders confounded, dazed or confused. And before firing off missives our way, we are not judging any of the listed vehicles’ merits; indeed, we admire their makers’ gumption and self-belief. Good for them!

Lotus has announced it will adopt hybrid technology as the brand joins a growing list of automakers in watering down its plans to go fully electric.

The booming Chinese electric vehicle industry could be the key to Lotus reinventing itself as a luxury brand.

The electric car price cuts keep rolling.Boutique brand Lotus is the latest to slash a huge amount off the price of its EV as the electric car price war enters the luxury sphere.Its brutish Eletre electric performance SUV was originally slated to be priced from $239,000 (before on-road costs) for its base version, but now Aussies can jump in one for $189,900 – a whopping $49,100 less.The savings keep coming with the mid-tier S now $229,990 instead of $269,000 and the top-tier R variant is $279,990 not $315,000 as first announced.Customers who have already ordered an Eletre S or R will pay the new price when their cars arrive in Australia near the end of June.Production of the base Eletre will start in quarter 3 this year with deliveries either at the end of the year or early 2025.Lotus Australia Chief Operating Officer Richard Gibbs said the local outfit had inherited the pricing structure that came down from head office but they've been advocating for a review and were happy the powers to be agreed."It's a culmination of our market assessment and customer feedback," said Gibbs.He was keen on getting the price right before the cars arrived in country rather than being forced to cut the price once deliveries had started potentially angering existing customers."I think the fact we've done it now, I don't see us going through this again and we were quite keen to get this resolved before the vehicles arrive in market," he said." are not over inflated now and so there will be no bubble bursting."This is still not a cheap electric car, but it comes with potent performance and pedigree to match its steep price of entry.The Eletre uses two electric motors fed by a big 112kWh battery to make 450kW and 710Nm in the base and S versions and 675kW and 985Nm in the top-tier R.Aided by all-wheel drive grip, the Eletre can complete the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint in 4.5 seconds in lower grades or in a supercar rivalling 2.95 seconds in the R.Those that value driving range over lightning quick speed can choose the base or S versions that are capable of driving up to 600km on a single charge. The R’s claimed range drops to 490km.The Eletre is built with an 800-volt charging architecture that allows charging speeds of up to 350kW. This matches vehicles such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Porsche Taycan.Lotus claims it can replenish the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 20 minutes at its maximum rate. When hooked up to a 22kW AC wallbox charger it can go from zero to 100 per cent in just under six hours.The famed British brand - now Chinese owned - is known for its lightweight sports cars such as the Elise and Emira, making the Eletre the most un-Lotus Lotus ever, weighing in at about 2.6 tonnes.The new Eletre prices follow a mass of car makers dramatically slashing the cost of their electric cars.This week Peugeot knocked more than $20,000 off the price of its e-2008 electric small SUV to $39,990 drive-away.That model has since sold out according to Peugeot Australia and it won’t be on sale until the start of next year when the updated version arrives.Nissan also knocked $16,000 off the price of its slow selling Leaf electric hatchback. It now starts at $39,990 drive-away with the longer range e+ model $49,990 drive-away.Chinese car brand BYD has savings of up to $8000 on its already affordable Atto 3 and MG and GWM have applied generous drive-away prices to the 4 and Ora small electric hatchbacks.