Lotus is already creating several hundred jobs in the country as it begins production of the Lotus Emira at its plant in Norfolk.
Lotus plans to build electric sports cars in the UK, aiming for its main plant in Norfolk to triple production. Credit: Lotus Cars
The Emira is the last combustion-engined sports car the company will make, replacing its full line-up of sports cars, before it switches to the electric route.
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It is set to give up the internal combustion engine in production cars and will be a fully electric vehicle company by the late 2020s.
The company sold 1,378 cars last year but expects to the figure to rise to “tens of thousands” of vehicles by 2025, a report in the Financial Times said. Lotus's Managing Director Matt Windle told the publication the company is looking to overhaul its entire line-up and manufacture SUVs and electric sports cars.
The company is also opening a factory in China, which will be its first plant outside the UK, to make electric SUVs. Overall, it expects to see a ten-fold rise in production.
However, according to industry experts, the shift to electric cars in the UK will need a 'Herculean' effort. Plans for a ban on the sale of traditional petrol and diesel cars were first announced in 2017, as part of a strategy to clean up city air. It was meant to take effect in 2040.
That target was brought forward to 2030 as part of a wider plan to make the UK carbon- neutral by 2050. Meeting the 2030 deadline will be a challenge for the car industry. In 2019, there were 2.3 million new cars registered in Britain, but only 37,850 were battery-powered - just 1.6%.
Credit: Lotus
Sales have risen rapidly this year, partly due to strict new emission rules in the EU which have forced manufacturers to invest billions in new zero-emission models. As a result, electric cars have improved, but they remain expensive to make and rely heavily on incentives to sell.
In spite of this, Lotus remains firmly set on an electric future. “Our plan will take us into new segments, and new parts of the market,” said Matt Windle. “When the lifestyle products and the new sports cars come along, we will be talking about tens of thousands of cars a year, rather than thousands.”
He explained that the group had yet to reach a deal on batteries for its electric sports cars, but they would need to be from the UK or Europe, in order to qualify for tariff-free access to the EU, under the terms of Britain’s trading deal with the bloc.
Lotus is already creating several hundred jobs in the country as it begins production of the Lotus Emira. The Emira is the last combustion-engined sports car the company will make, replacing its full line-up of sports cars, before it switches to the electric route.
Lotus is set to give up the internal combustion engine in production cars and will be a fully electric vehicle company by the late 2020s.
The company sold 1,378 cars last year but expects to the figure to rise to “tens of thousands” of vehicles by 2025, a report in the Financial Times said. Lotus's Managing Director Matt Windle told the publication the company is looking to overhaul its entire line-up and manufacture SUVs and electric sports cars.
The company is also opening a factory in China, which will be its first plant outside the UK, to make electric SUVs. Overall, it expects to see a ten-fold rise in production.
However, according to industry experts, the shift to electric cars in the UK will need a 'Herculean' effort. Plans for a ban on the sale of traditional petrol and diesel cars were first announced in 2017, as part of a strategy to clean up city air. It was meant to take effect in 2040.
That target was brought forward to 2030 as part of a wider plan to make the UK carbon- neutral by 2050. Meeting the 2030 deadline will be a challenge for the car industry. In 2019, there were 2.3 million new cars registered in Britain, but only 37,850 were battery powered - just 1.6%
Sales have risen rapidly this year, partly due to strict new emission rules in the EU which have forced manufacturers to invest billions in new zero-emission models. As a result, electric cars have improved, but they remain expensive to make and rely heavily on incentives to sell.
Read more: New EVs may face production delays from 2027 as lithium capacity lags
In spite of this, Lotus remains firmly set on an electric future. “Our plan will take us into new segments, and new parts of the market,” said Matt Windle. “When the lifestyle products and the new sports cars come along, we will be talking about tens of thousands of cars a year, rather than thousands.”
He explained that the group had yet to reach a deal on batteries for its electric sports cars, but they would need to be from the UK or Europe, in order to qualify for tariff-free access to the EU, under the terms of Britain’s trading deal with the bloc.
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