According to a report by CarNewsChina, Lotus will be launching a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Eletre in China, the company’s first PHEV in January 2026. A European market debut is set to follow later in the year. This timeline was hinted at by Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng during the company’s recent Q3 2025 earnings call.
During the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call earlier this year, the Lotus CEO confirmed that the brand’s first plug-in hybrid would be a variant of the Lotus Eletre. The new model could be unveiled in late 2025, with customer deliveries scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
Dubbed the “Hyper Hybrid,” this in-house developed powertrain features a 900V architecture and a dual-motor setup. It supports ultra-fast DC charging, allowing a 10-80% recharge in just 12 minutes. The system offers a pure EV range of up to 300 km, with a combined range of 998 km.
Reports from CarNewsChina also suggest that the “Hyper Hybrid” system could utilise components from Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Renault and Geely, Lotus’s parent company.
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For reference, the Zeekr 9X, which features a similar 900V PHEV architecture, pairs a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 279 hp with three electric motors to produce a combined 1,381 hp.
The Lotus Eletre PHEV will likely adopt a similar configuration, albeit paired with the aforementioned dual-motor setup. This could see it matching the power outputs of its pure-EV siblings: the Eletre 600 Series with 612 hp and the Eletre 900 Series with 918 hp. It could potentially feature a four-figure output similar to the Zeekr 9X, but that remains to be seen.
The realignment of Lotus’s electrification plans follows a significant 42% year-on-year decline in global vehicle deliveries in Q1 2025, prompting the company to adopt a more flexible approach to electrification rather than maintaining an all-out commitment to EVs.
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