4 New Electric Models & a New Head of Design for Lotus
Serena Aburahma
· 3 min read
Lotus is a British manufacturer known for its history of success in racing and sports cars.
Now, they are making news by shifting their focus to electric vehicles. Manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz, plan to be all-electric by the end of the decade, and Lotus has recently announced a similar goal.
According to
Car and Driver
, Lotus is in the process of converting its lineup to electric vehicles. This is a new era for Lotus overall with a new head of Group Lotus Design and other new projects in addition to the electric vehicle conversion.
Lotus shifting to electric
Lotus is currently working under a plan called Lotus80, which will celebrate the company's 80th anniversary in 2028.
To commemorate this milestone, the company is quickly converting its lineup to electric vehicles. This may seem like a short amount of time for such a major shift, but Lotus has been preparing its electric vehicle platform.
They have announced four models of EVs, which include two SUVs, a coupe-sedan, and a sports car. A new Lotus subsidiary called Lotus Technology, headquartered in Wuhan, China, is helping with technological development.
The shift to electric at Lotus is happening quicker than most could have expected. The 2022 Emira model is expected to be their last gas-powered vehicle. Other manufacturers,
like Audi
, have progressive plans to be all-electric in the coming years, but this is even more ambitious.Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
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The new head of design
The all-electric future of Lotus marks a major turning point in the company, and a new head of design will help lead this transition. 71-year-old Peter Horbury, who has done work on design teams at Geely, Volvo, and Ford Americas, will serve as the new head of Group Lotus Design.
Horbury and Lotus have already announced impressive technology for their new electric vehicles. The Lotus Premium Architecture will include batteries ranging from 92.0 to 120.0 kWh. These can reportedly go from 0 to 62 miles per hour in less than three seconds.
All upcoming Lotus electric vehicles will be produced in the company's new Wuhan plant. This factory can reportedly produce 150,000 vehicles a year. In the coming years, certain Lotus EV sports car models will be produced in the United Kingdom.
What other projects is Lotus working on?
MORE: These Self-Driving Racing Cars Go 180 Miles per Hour
In addition to producing electric vehicles, the Lotus Wuhan facility is also set to host other new and impressive technologies. These are set to offer innovative, safer ways of testing new vehicles.
The first of these is an "integrated intelligent test track," a track where autonomous vehicles can drive at 140 mph. Companies like Tesla have been experimenting with self-driving vehicles, but this sort of test track is new for autonomous driving.
Another project is the "track-level intelligence drive." Not much is known about this program yet, but it has a goal of helping drivers achieve professional levels of skill on a track.
We will have to wait and see exactly how these projects will take shape and how Lotus will look as an all-electric vehicle manufacturer. When shopping for car insurance, though, the technology of the future is already available.
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