The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Lotus Eletre has been confirmed for Europe and the UK, significantly increasing the chances of it being offered in Australia.
The plug-in hybrid SUV debuted in China at the end of 2025 and will be marketed there as Lotus For Me. Luckily for Europe, the company has decided to stick with its tradition of “E” names and brand the PHEV simply as “Eletre X”.
It is unclear whether the Eletre
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Deliveries to European and UK customers are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Lotus is keeping the final European specifications secret until the vehicle’s EU launch in June.
According to the European reports, the specifications of the Eletre X will not be too different from the For Me in the Chinese market.
While the Eletre For Me can hardly be distinguished visually from the EV version, the plug-in hybrid is said to run on a completely different platform Top equipment is shared with the Zeekr 9X.
The Eletre For Me features a permanent magnet synchronous motor for the front and rear axles, while under the hood there is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
The system’s total output is 700kW and 935Nm, and Lotus claims the Eletre PHEV can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds. In comparison, the top versions of the Eletre EV have a 675 kW dual-motor all-wheel drive system that can accelerate the century in 2.95 seconds.
The PHEV powertrain has three driving modes: pure electric; Series hybrid, where the gasoline engine drives a 150 kW generator to charge the battery pack; and parallel hybrid, in which the gasoline engine is connected directly to the front wheels. The parallel hybrid mode is only activated during high-speed driving on the highway.
Since the Eletre For Me typically functions as a range extender electric vehicle, it is equipped with a larger than average 70 kWh battery. According to the mild CLTC test standard, the Eletre For Me is said to have a purely electric range of 420 km.
It will be interesting to see if X/For Me can boost Eletre sales. Only nine Eletres were sold in Australia last year, putting it last in the top large SUV category over $120,000 and well behind models such as the Lamborghini Urus (154), BMW XM (95), Aston Martin DBX (58) and Ferrari Purosangue (56).
Lotus had long expressed a desire to diversify from its core sports cars, much like Porsche did in the early 2000s, but the British sports car maker was unable to realize those dreams until Geely bought a majority stake in the company in 2017.
With the help of the Chinese automaker, the company developed the Emeya sedan and Eletre SUV, both of which are manufactured in Wuhan, China. The Emira sports car will continue to be produced in Hethel, Great Britain.
MORE: Explore the Lotus Eletre showroom
