The British automaker has registered around 17,000 pre-orders in the first half of 2023, an impressive achievement considering that its annual sales normally haven’t exceeded 1,500 units. A radical overhaul of the whole lineup and launch of the Eletre EV seem to be the main contributing factors.
For perspective, Lotus only managed to find buyers for 576 cars last year. The number seems on the small side even by niche brand standards and owes to the fact that the antiquated Elise, Exige and Evora models left production that year, while the new Eletre SUV didn’t ship until March 2023. As such, the only Lotus remaining on sale in 2022 was the Emira, the company’s way of saying goodbye to the combustion engine.
In January-June 2023, the company has boosted the Emira production by 381% compared to the entire previous year, churning out over 2,200 units from its Hethel, UK factory and setting a new record.
In turn, the Eletre EV made in a Geely factory in Wuhan Province, China, has also picked up the pace this year before its impending launch in the UK and Europe later this month.
Last but not least, Lotus has worked to expand its presence in new markets, including South Korea. For the latter, it signed a distribution agreement with the local company Kolon Mobility Group.
