How Many Lotus Electric Cars Will There Be?

January 6, 2009

Lotus enters the electric car market, becoming competitor to its customers.

Lotus is the latest carmaker to announce plans for a high-performance electric vehicle. If the British carmaker can deliver on its plans, it will compete directly against the Tesla Roadster and Dodge EV, two electric sports cars for which Lotus already supplies a chassis.

Tesla Roadster
Dodge EV

The Tesla Roadster uses structural elements from the Lotus Elise, while the Dodge EV concept is based on the Lotus Europa.

The planned Lotus electric car will utilize a gasoline engine to extend the driving range of the vehicle to as much as 300 or 400-miles. This approach—commonly described as a plug-in series hybrid or range-extended electric vehicle—would be similar to the one found in the Chevrolet Volt and the sporty Fisker Karma (which will also compete for customers looking for speedy electric vehicles).

A preliminary version of the Lotus EV is expected to be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Last year, Lotus announced the establishment of a research and development group dedicated specifically to hybrids and electric cars. Lotus is investing nearly 100 million dollars in the effort. Lotus boss Michael Kimberly said the electric Lotus will showcase “what you can do with electric vehicle technology.”


Posted in News
Tagged as

Related Readings

  • Bryce

    This is pretty funny that 3 companies are all using the same chasis to dot he same thing. I guess Lotus figured if all these folks were doing this with their bodies, they might as well do it themselves.

  • Doug

    Actually, the Tesla Roadster uses a redesigned chassis based on the Elise, while the Dodge EV is a Lotus Europa converted to electric for Chrysler by Lotus.
    http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/21/lotus-engineering-director-talks-about-dodge-ev/

  • Skeptic

    “[S]imilar to the one found in the Chevy Volt”?

    How can that be?

    There is no Chevy Volt – it’s vaporware.

    I was excited to read of Chrysler’s hybrid plans, thinking they were really going to show up GM … until I realized that they are closer to bankruptcy than GM and need vaporware even more.

    Too bad.

  • ZAP X

    What Lotus comes up with in the EV space will certainly be worth watching.

  • Bryce

    lol….so the fact that this other company hasn’t even made a tester model……while GM has…..and has been researching for 2 years……when this company just started thinking about it last month……makes its little roadster less vaporware that the Volt…….

    Maybe I missed something…..

    Besides……do YOU plan on buying a Lotus……can u afford one???

    $27,500 is a lot less than $80,000-$100,000

    $27k from base price of 35k-7.5k tax credit.

    Then again…..maybe my Berkeley education has failed me and you are right….making expensive roadsters that u and I will never buy that just started being researched last month is way better than something that has been researched for 2 years and costs the same as a car you and I coulda afford……

    silly me…..

  • tapra2

    the driving range of the vehicle to as much as 300 or 400-miles. This approach—commonly described as a plug-in series hybrid or range-extended. Top UK Hosting