British marque Lotus launches electric SUV in China

British legendary sports car marque Lotus launched its first electric SUV on Tuesday, and its deliveries are expected to start in the first half of 2023.

The model, called Eletre, measures 5,103 mm in length, with its wheelbase reaching 3,019 mm. It has a driving range up to 650 km on one charge.

Produced at its plant in Central China's Hubei province, the model is available in two variants on the Chinese mainland.

The S+ version has a maximum output of 450 kW and a top torque of 710 Nm. It can accelerate from zero to 100 km/hour in 4.5 seconds.

The R+ version has a maximum output of 675 kW and a top torque of 985 Nm. It can finish the zero-100 km/hour sprint in 2.95 seconds.

Lotus said the R+ version is the world's fastest dual-motor electric SUV.

The Eletre features 34 sensors and two Orin-X chips, with the capacity of processing 508 tera operations per second.

Lotus said it is expanding its sales and service network in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

In China, it will build a network of around 100 showrooms in over 40 cities by the end of 2023.

Lotus, founded in 1948, is speeding up its electrification since Geely acquired a majority stake in 2017.

Following the Eletre, Lotus is scheduled to unveil a four-door electric sports car in 2023, an electric D-segment model in 2025 and a smaller electric sports car in 2026. The carmaker will be producing electric models only from 2028.