Lotus News

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

The Lotus Emeya electric car has already arrived in Australia half a year ahead of schedule with pricing confirmed.

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.

Lotus has priced its newest model, the Eletre electric SUV that is designed to blow away petrol-powered super crossovers like the Aston Martin DBX, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Macan.

As part of the new and improved Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, Nissan and Renault have committed to the successful Navara and Alaskan ute pair.

Nissan's latest concept car is more than just a retro take on its electric future, it could be a statement of a more independent Nissan.

The Lotus brand in Australia is on the march to be busier than ever, with hundreds of orders for the new Lotus Emira sports car set to be filled over the course of 2023.With Lotus having delivered around 60 cars to customers annually for the last few year

Toyota has been teasing a new sports car for years and in December 2021 we got our best look yet at what's likely to be the all-new MR2.It was almost lost in the crowd as Toyota unveiled 17 electric concept cars on the same day, but the GR-badged, mid-eng

Right now, new-car sales are booming, buyers have to wait months and even years for specific model or grade choices in some instances, and nobody is really wheeling and dealing like they used to pre-pandemic.

Lotus has revealed its new Evora GT410 overseas, a softer version of the GT410 Sport, with the brand's local division studying its potential for an Australian introduction.CarsGuide understands that the local Evora GT410 Sport - the only variant available