News?

Iconic British car brand says goodbye to EVs as it confirms new range of hybrids

ICONIC British car brand Lotus is easing off its all‑EV push and will roll out a new range of plug‑in hybrids in Europe from 2026 instead. The Norfolk-based manufacturer, which is renowned for its …

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[EspritGuy]

Iconic British car brand says goodbye to EVs as it confirms new range of hybrids

ICONIC British car brand Lotus is easing off its all‑EV push and will roll out a new range of plug‑in hybrids in Europe from 2026 instead. The Norfolk-based manufacturer, which is renowned for its …

www.thesun.co.uk

Hard not to see where this is headed. This either kills the Emira in two years or belies the death of the turbo 4 which gets battery assist. Life wil be different for sure. Thanks for sharing.

 

[GrahamClark_60-68]

I used to work as an engineer for a car company many years ago (GM). Despite that I'm certainly not presenting myself as any expert or fortune teller on this subject, but it was said back then that the Corvettes is what brought people into the showroom to buy the Chevettes (yes I worked there a long time ago).

And although the concept of showrooms is no longer very strong, I think the concept of having a performance pedigree helps to sell your volume cars, despite the low number sold of your halo car. This is my long-winded way of suggesting that, unless and until Lotus' cars other than the Emira reach incredible sales success on their own merits (and given all the other competition that day may never come), they will still need to keep the Emira around for years to come. It's cars like the Emira that keep the notion alive that Lotus is a performance oriented brand with serious racing history and creds that helps people decide to buy a Lotus SUV (EV or hybrid), vs many other choices. Again, just my two.

 

[Andrew25]

I used to work as an engineer for a car company many years ago (GM). Despite that I'm certainly not presenting myself as any expert or fortune teller on this subject, but it was said back then that the Corvettes is what brought people into the showroom to buy the Chevettes (yes I worked there a long time ago).

And although the concept of showrooms is no longer very strong, I think the concept of having a performance pedigree helps to sell your volume cars, despite the low number sold of your halo car. This is my long-winded way of suggesting that, unless and until Lotus' cars other than the Emira reach incredible sales success on their own merits (and given all the other competition that day may never come), they will still need to keep the Emira around for years to come. It's cars like the Emira that keep the notion alive that Lotus is a performance oriented brand with serious racing history and creds that helps people decide to buy a Lotus SUV (EV or hybrid), vs many other choices. Again, just my two.

Agreed

 

[LotsOfTriumphsUsuallySexy]

I used to work as an engineer for a car company many years ago (GM). Despite that I'm certainly not presenting myself as any expert or fortune teller on this subject, but it was said back then that the Corvettes is what brought people into the showroom to buy the Chevettes (yes I worked there a long time ago).

And although the concept of showrooms is no longer very strong, I think the concept of having a performance pedigree helps to sell your volume cars, despite the low number sold of your halo car. This is my long-winded way of suggesting that, unless and until Lotus' cars other than the Emira reach incredible sales success on their own merits (and given all the other competition that day may never come), they will still need to keep the Emira around for years to come. It's cars like the Emira that keep the notion alive that Lotus is a performance oriented brand with serious racing history and creds that helps people decide to buy a Lotus SUV (EV or hybrid), vs many other choices. Again, just my two.

Yes, this is a well-known concept and is called the "Halo product", however, the Emira isn't the Halo product for Lotus, the Evija is. Regardless, I don't know how much of this applies to vendors of so few and specialized products.

 

[Lotus64]

Yes, this is a well-known concept and is called the "Halo product", however, the Emira isn't the Halo product for Lotus, the Evija is. Regardless, I don't know how much of this applies to vendors of so few and specialized products.

A brand can have multiple halo products and the Emira would fall into that category, arguably more than the Evija because it is more in line with Lotus core values of lightweight and purity. Not to mention it's styling is similar and it's not unobtanium or obscure.

Lotus needs an accessible sports car to embody it's brand philosophy of performance and purity through engineering simplicity in a way that is visible to its customer base, like the GT and Turbo trims of the 911 demonstrate Porsche' s high performance engineering excellence, Hellcats demonstrate Mopar's emphasis on power and style, and the S / SL / G class demonstrate Mercedes' design for luxury and innovation. These vehicles are the pillars of the brand identity whose DNA trickles down (and sometimes up) throughout the lineup and set customer expectations.

Even If the V6 and I4 get dropped for a hybrid turbo 4 as the article implies, Lotus could maintain a halo with a hybrid, exhibited by the holy trinity, NSX, Reveulto, ZR1X, F80 and 911 Turbo. Hybrids are becoming the norm in today's performance market and can still be relatively fun and engaging while showing off core brand values.