Evija

Make
Lotus
Segment
Coupe

The 1,973 horsepower Lotus Evija hypercar is only the beginning of the iconic UK brand's ascension to an all-electric future. Now owned by China's Geely, Lotus has access to financial assistance and numerous technologies it never previously had. Its expertise was and continues to be in chassis and suspension tuning, but Geely ownership creates endless new opportunities.

Today, Lotus is revealing teaser images for what it has planned for the next five years. It aims to launch (count them!) four all-electric vehicles by 2026 as part of its Vision80 strategy. The goal is to become an EV-only brand by 2028, just in time for its 80th anniversary.

Aside from the Evija and the Emira, the final combustion-engined model, Lotus will unveil the Type 132 SUV and Type 133 four-door coupe in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Specifics regarding both remain unknown though we already knew the SUV will ride on a new platform which will also underpin all of these new EVs.

The larger Type 134 SUV is due to arrive in 2024 and then, in 2026, will come Hethel's highly anticipated Type 135 all-electric sports car being developed as part of a partnership agreement with Groupe Renault's Alpine brand. To make this all happen, Group Lotus has created a new division very appropriately called Lotus Technology, a global "intelligent technology" subsidiary whose Chinese headquarters will be completed in 2024.

Prior to that, the firm's all-new factory will open its doors in the UK next year. This facility will be capable of producing up to 150,000 vehicles annually. "Transforming Lotus from a UK sports car company to a truly global performance car company has always been at the core of Vision80," said Lotus Managing Director Matt Windle. "The launch of Lotus Technology is a major milestone on the road to making that a reality, while adhering to the unwavering Lotus principles of pure performance, efficiency, motorsport success and, above all, being 'For the Drivers'."

There was a time when Lotus was on the brink of extinction. Not anymore. Its future is looking brighter than ever.