Alpine-Lotus sports car to be built in Norfolk in 2026; Type 132 SUV, four-door coupé and family crossover in China from 2022
Lotus has begun construction of a new site
in Wuhan, China, where it will start building a family of all-new cars in 2022,
starting with the Type 132 SUV.
The site,
investment in which totals around £900 million, will be home to Lotus
Technology, a new division of dedicated exclusively to the manufacture of
electric cars.
The British
firm has confirmed that two Chinese-built EV models will arrive in the
next five years. Following the Type 132 SUV will be the Type 133
four-door coupé in 2023 and a D-segment SUV codenamed the Type 134 in
2024. The long-awaited Type 135 sports car, developed in partnership with
Alpine, will be built in Hethel in 2026.
A new
partnership has also been revealed between Lotus and Chinese EV manufacturer Nio. Li Bin, the founder and CEO of the
latter, has made an unspecified investment into Lotus Technology, which Lotus
says paves the way for both parties to potentially "explore opportunities
for mutually beneficial industrial co-operation".
The Wuhan
factory will open later this year, with the Lotus Technology headquarters set
for completion in 2024. Covering an area of more than one million square
metres, it will have an eventual capacity of 150,000 cars per year – 15 times
more than Lotus' existing production line in Hethel, Norfolk.
Notably,
Lotus says, it will be the first factory in the world with an "integrated
intelligent test track". Cars will drive themselves into workshops with no
human intervention and can be driven at speeds of up to 140mph on the
16-corner circuit.
Both the
new Emira sports car and the all-electric Evija flagship will be built in Hethel, with
Lotus emphasising its commitment to retaining a UK outfit responsible for
"co-ordinating global sales for the Lotus
brand". All of the new Lotus EVs previewed today will be
based on the firm's Premium architecture, one of four EV platforms
detailed earlier this year. Designed for "premium lifestyle" vehicles,
it supports cars with wheelbases ranging from 2889mm to 3100mm (Lotus suggests
this will encompass cars from C+ to E segments), and this could be
extended in the future.
It can also
accommodate batteries ranging from 92-120kWh in capacity and is equipped
with 800V charging functionality, meaning Lotus EVs will be capable of using
the quickest charging devices on the market.
Precise
performance details of all models remain under wraps, but Lotus claims
that each will be capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in less than
3.0sec.
The
pioneering Type 132 SUV, as reported last year by Autocar, has been in
development since 2016. Two variants are expected from launch, offering between
600bhp and 750bhp and both with four-wheel drive.
No range
figures have yet been detailed, but given the 2.5-tonne Audi E-tron
Sportback manages
241 miles with a 95kWh battery, a figure approaching 300 could be possible from
the Type 132 if it stays true to Lotus's lightweight ethos.
Source: Autocar.com
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