Owned by Geely lotus has introduced a plug-in hybrid version of it Electr SUV in China with a new name: the Lotus for meeschewing a naming convention that had been in place since the 1956 Lotus Eleven sports car.
Set to launch in China in the first quarter of 2026, the For Me is the first of three hybrids the brand plans to launch over the next three years. There is no confirmation or timeline for the Australian market yet.
The For Me takes the battery-electric Eletre SUV and swaps the EV cones for a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine, front and rear electric motors, and a large (for a PHEV) 70-kWh battery from CATL.
With a combined power of 710kW and all-wheel drive, the For Me is said to achieve 0-100km/h acceleration in 3.3 seconds and an electric range of 420km on the milder CLTC cycle.
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In comparison, the most powerful electric Eletre has an output of 675 kW and transmits power to all four wheels, which corresponds to an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.95 seconds and a WLTP range of 400 km with a larger 107 kWh battery.
The For Me may be able to achieve faster charging speeds than the Eletre thanks to its Electric Premium architecture, which it shares with the Lotus Emeya electric liftback.
Using a 900V electrical architecture instead of 800V, the For Me can charge up to 80 percent in just over eight minutes.
With the switch from BEV to PHEV, the SUV has abandoned the Lotus tradition of using model names starting with the letter “e”, which dates back to the 1956 Lotus Eleven sports car when founder Colin Chapman tried to move away from Roman numerals.
Pricing is yet to be announced, but the Eletre – the first Lotus made in China and launched in Australia in 2024 – starts at $189,990 before on-road costs here, while the flagship Eletre R costs $279,990 plus on-road costs.
Lotus, known for its handling expertise, has equipped the For Me with adaptive damping and active anti-roll bars, with Pirelli P Zero rubber and high-performance six-piston Brembo brakes on the flagship version, which also features an active rear spoiler.
The launch of its first-ever hybrid model comes as Lotus seeks to overcome a significant drop in sales and associated financial losses as it launched its new electric vehicles.
“The introduction of hybrid models will provide luxury vehicle buyers with more choice and will help us expand into broader markets, including regions with slower electric vehicle adoption such as Italy, Spain and Saudi Arabia,” Lotus Technology CEO Feng Qingfeng said during the company’s earnings call last month.
Not only do Lotus’ newer Chinese electric vehicles get the option of PHEV drive, the British-built Emira sports car is also suitable for such a powertrain.
Lotus lost A$396 million in the first six months of 2025, with global sales of 2813 marking a 43 percent year-on-year decline, despite the company offering fresh products in new segments.
Recent sales results aren’t much better, with 4,612 sales through the end of September, an average monthly run rate that suggests the target of 6,149 sales for the full year 2025 compared to 12,124 sales for the full year 2024.
Admittedly, 2024 was a banner year for Lotus, but current sales performance falls short of 2023, when the company sold 6,970 vehicles worldwide and posted a smaller financial loss than in 2024.
In Australia, Lotus was down 60.0 percent with just 53 sales by the end of November.
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