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LONDON Lotus Cars will only produce electric cars by the “late 2020s,” CEO Matt Windle said.
The UK sports-car maker, owned by China’s Geely, is the latest automaker to commit to an all-electric future as the industry shifts from combustion engines amid tightening emissions regulations in major markets such as Europe and the U.S.
Lotus’s all-electric strategy was finalized in 2018 after positive customer feedback, Windle said. “We took the decision to go straight to EVs after the Elmira, which was already in development,” he said.
Lotus will unveil the combustion-engine Elmira on July 6 ahead of its sales launch next year.
last petrol-powered vehicle, with the iconic British sports-car specialist confirming
all future models will be all-electric.
Announced as part of its Driving Tomorrow strategy conference on Tuesday night, Lotus announced its future model portfolio would centre around four all-new platforms developed by the British brand, though with assistance from the wider Geely automotive group (including Volvo) in Germany, Sweden and China.
Underpinning the combustion-engined Emira will be the extruded-aluminium
Elemental platform, while the halo Evija hypercar will debut the
Extreme architecture.
The latter model will enter production later in 2021, Lotus has confirmed, with development claimed to be 80 per cent complete – the remaining 20 per cent comprising final ride, handling and sound tuning.
26 April 2021 10:09 am / 0 comments
According to a report by
Reuters, Jidu Auto will invest 50 billion yuan (around RM31.6 billion) into producing smart cars over the next five years. The company is a joint venture between Baidu (55%) and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (45%), with the partnership first being announced back in January this year.
Jidu CEO Xia Yiping told the publication that the funding would come from Baidu and other investors, with the company aiming to launch its first EV in three years or sooner. He said the EV would target young customers and “look like a robot,” although the company would need to analyse market data before deciding on a final model.
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The Zhejiang Geely Holding Group – perhaps better known simply as Geely – has unveiled a new marque at the
Shanghai motor show, positioned to take on a raft of established performance divisions with a range of EVs.
Called Zeekr, the new brand joins Geely’s portfolio of brands which already includes Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Proton and lesser known brands like Lynk & Co, Geometry, and LEVC – the maker of London cabs.
At a glance the
Zeekr 001 borrows heavily from Lynk & Co’s existing design language. Without any significant attempt to differentiate the new brand, or its first model, the 001 is an almost exact replica of Lynk & Co’s 2020 Zero concept.
Zhejiang Geely Holding, one of China’s biggest carmakers and the owner of Sweden’s Volvo Cars, has entered the fray against Tesla by launching an electric car it describes as a vehicle to excite rather than commute in.
The Zeekr 001 car, a four-door sedan with a driving range of 700km (435 miles), is priced at 281,000 yuan (US$43,098), a little higher than the Shanghai-made Tesla Model 3’s starting price of 249,900 yuan.
It will offer air suspension that automatically adjusts ground clearance, and frameless automatic doors that open when a passenger approaches, and close behind them.
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