Lotus confirms Emira hybrid, drops EV-only plan

Lotus Cars said on May 12 it will add a hybrid version of the Emira sports car and no longer pursue an EV-only path, folding the change into a broader five-year plan called Focus 2030. The British marque said it will now develop internal-combustion, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric models, replacing an earlier strategy that had pointed the brand toward full electrification. The shift puts Lotus alongside other carmakers that have slowed or revised all-electric targets as demand has proved uneven across markets. Lotus framed the move as a customer-led response to different regulatory and consumer conditions around the world. ### Where did Lotus actually say this? Lotus published the change in a May 12 press release announcing Focus 2030, its updated business strategy. In that statement, the company said it would pursue “an agile approach” across ICE, PHEV and BEV powertrains and target an approximately 60% PHEV and 40% BEV volume mix across its electrified portfolio in the short term. (lotuscars.com) The official release does not spell out a launch date for the Emira hybrid in the excerpt available on Lotus’s press site, but outside reports tied the Emira directly to the new hybrid push. Auto Express reported on May 12 that Lotus had confirmed a hybrid Emira as part of the strategy reset. (lotuscars.com) ### What changes for the Emira lineup right now? The Emira on sale today remains a combustion sports car. Lotus’s current model pages list the Emira Turbo, Turbo SE and V6 SE, with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 in the existing range. Lotus refreshed the Emira lineup in June 2025, adding the Emira V6 SE and Emira Turbo as part of the 2026 model-year range. (autoexpress.co.uk) That release described the Emira as a mid-engine premium sports car and said the V6 SE would start at 96,500 pounds in the UK. ### What is Lotus replacing its EV-only plan with? (lotuscars.com) The new plan is a multi-powertrain strategy rather than a battery-electric-only one. Lotus said hybrid technology will play a “central role” and presented that as part of a broader reset built around brand reinforcement, partner collaboration and financial discipline. Qingfeng Feng, chief executive of Lotus Group, said the strategy would “reset both the brand and the business.” (lotuscars.com) Lotus said the near-term mix across its electrified portfolio would lean toward plug-in hybrids. That matters because the company’s current road-car range already includes battery-electric models such as the Eletre SUV, the Emeya sedan and the Evija hypercar, while the Emira has remained the combustion holdout. (lotuscars.com) ### Which Lotus model gets the hybrid system first? Lotus said the first application is the Eletre X, which uses what the company calls X-Hybrid technology. The carmaker said deliveries have already started in China and that more than 1,000 pre-orders were placed in the first month. Europe is next. Lotus said customer deliveries of the Eletre X in Europe are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. (lotuscars.com) ### What else is in Focus 2030 beyond the Emira? Lotus said its next major hybrid product after the Eletre X will be the Type 135, described as the brand’s first-ever supercar with a V8 hybrid powertrain producing more than 1,000 PS. (lotuscars.com) The company said that model is planned for 2028. The same strategy document said design and engineering would remain rooted in the UK, with research and development in China. (lotuscars.com) Lotus also said Focus 2030 is intended to run through the end of the decade, making the Emira hybrid one piece of a wider product and powertrain reset that the company began outlining on May 12, 2026.