Lotus to leave petrol-fuelled cars in rear-view mirror
BRITISH sports carmaker Lotus is to phase out all new petrol models from next year as it shifts to a fully electrified line-up of vehicles.
The 74-year-old business said it will be the first established sports carmaker to drop petrol models after it announced the Emira will be the last to be powered by a combustion engine.
Matt Windle, managing director at Lotus Cars, said: “All new mainstream vehicles from Lotus from 2023 will be fully electric. It means Lotus will become the first established sports carmaker in the world to have a fully electrified product range.”
It comes ahead of a looming government ban on the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 as Boris Johnson races to meet the UK’S net-zero targets.
Lord Grimstone, the investment minister, said: “It is brilliant to see Lotus, a truly iconic UK car brand, leading on the transition to cleaner transport.
“I look forward to seeing Lotus continue to innovate and combine electrification with high performance”.
Lotus, which is owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, unveiled an all-electric SUV earlier this year, the Eletre, and it will be joined by a fourdoor sports saloon later this year. This will be followed by a second SUV in 2025 and a lightweight sports car in 2026, the company said.
Mr Windle said the company was facing soaring costs, including energy bills and raw materials, and warned some customers were facing delays to orders amid supply chain issues, which have blighted the industry. However, he said that customers waiting on existing orders would be protected from any future price rises.
Mr Windle said: “We have committed to holding the price of everybody that’s got an order on sports cars at the moment. We’re seeing a small delay in delivery of those cars expected this month, it’s going to start next month.
“We felt it was the right thing to do to commit to that price. So that’s gone down very well.”