Lotus rebounds on demand for the Emira, its last ICE model

LONDON -- Lotus built more than 2,200 Emira sports cars at its U.K. factory in the first half after the company rebounded from a poor 2022.

All the cars built at the plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England this year were Emiras -- the automaker's final combustion-engine model. Lotus began production of the two-seater last year following delays caused by supply chain issues.

A slow ramp-up resulted in Geely-owned Lotus building just 867 cars in Hethel last year. This was down from 1,402 in 2021 when the company finished building the last of its previous generation of sports cars that included the Elise and Exige.

The ramp-up in Emira production comes as the brand began sales of its Chinese-built Eletre all-electric SUV in China.

Both models have been in planning since China's Geely took a majority stake in Lotus in 2017 with a plan to overhaul the niche manufacturer and create a competitor to brands such as Porsche.

Further ‘lifestyle’ models including a sedan and a smaller SUV are planned from Lotus’s Wuhan, China, facility, which has a capacity of 150,000.

“We are firmly on track to becoming a global performance brand by 2028,” Lotus Group CEO Feng Qingfeng said in a statement.

As well as the slow ramp up of Emira production, Lotus has also faced delays in delivering its first Evija electric hypercar models.

The 1,973-hp coupe was revealed in 2019 with an original production date of 2020. The company expects to ship the first models to customers this year.

Delays caused by supply chain issues led to a loss last year for the U.K.-based Lotus Cars division of 150 million pounds, forcing the company to cut about 200 jobs, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Lotus Cars focuses on sports cars and is separate from Lotus Technology, which was created to build sedans and electric SUVs in China.

Both companies come under the umbrella of Lotus Group.

The company said it had opened 23 new stores globally in the first half, bringing the total to 193.

Lotus's sales expansion included South Korea, where it partnered with local dealer group Kolon Mobility Group.

U.S. plant possible

The company is also investigating building a plant in the U.S., Qingfeng told the Financial Times in July.

The addition of the Eletre, which goes on sale in Europe later this summer, has grown the company’s order book to 17,000 vehicles, Lotus said.

New Emira engine

Lotus said it has orders for the Emira stretching over the next two years. The Emira is the company’s final combustion-engine model before Lotus switches to an all-electric lineup.

The Emira was initially available with a V-6 engine but Lotus has just unveiled a new four-cylinder version that uses a 360-hp engine sourced from Mercedes’ AMG performance division.

The four-cylinder car will start at 95,995 euros in Germany.

Lotus was partnering with Renault premium brand Alpine on an electric replacement for the Emira due in 2027, but it announced in May that the two companies had broken off that arrangement.

Lotus said it remained “fully committed” to its electric sports car, codenamed Type 135, despite Alpine’s exit.