Is a PHEV the right choice for you? Lotus says yes, calls the Eletre PHEV the ‘For Me’

Image: TychodeFeijter/X

Internal combustion engines (ICE), electric vehicles (EV), or plug-in hybrids (PHEV) – we always say that the choice is up to you. But it seems the board members as Hethel wants to make the decision for you by calling the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant of the Lotus Eletre the Lotus ‘For Me‘ – at least, according to filings with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

No it’s not just you – we are also scratching our heads at the naming decision. It sounds oddly specific and marks a bizarre departure from the British carmaker’s long-standing tradition of naming its models starting with the letter ‘E’. But, as they say, it is what it is.

Image: TychodeFeijter/X

Naming aside, the Lotus For Me perhaps isn’t too much of a surprise, as Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng has already previously confirmed during the company’s recent Q3 2025 earnings call that the brand will launch its first PHEV model in January 2026, with a European market debut set to follow later in the year.

Despite its completely different naming convention, the Lotus For Me looks virtually identical to its pure EV counterpart. The only visual distinctions appear to be a different active front grille pattern and the omission of the cutouts on the front fenders, which house the LiDAR sensors for the Eletre’s ADAS features.

RELATED: Lotus to launch Eletre PHEV in China in 2026, European market later on

Lotus Eletre interior

No interior photos of the Lotus For Me were available, but following the pattern, the cabin should also be identical to the standard Eletre setup. This would feature a 15.1-inch full HD OLED display, paired with dual 12.6-inch driver and passenger displays, and complemented by a massive 29-inch head-up display.

Lotus has not officially disclosed the powertrain specifications, but reports from CarNewsChina state the Lotus For Me is equipped with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine paired with two electric motors. This setup produces a combined 952 hp, enabling a 0-100 km/h sprint in just 3.3 seconds.

Image: CarNewsChina

The system is paired with a 70 kWh battery pack, giving the Lotus For Me a pure EV range of 420 km (CLTC). Thanks to its 900V architecture, which supports 6C charging, the Lotus For Me can accept charging speeds of around 420 kW DC. This enables the car to recharge from 30-80% in just eight minutes.

It remains to be seen how much the Lotus For Me will cost when it makes its market launch in China early next year. For comparison, the Lotus Eletre 900 series retails from RMB838,000 (approx. RM488k) before options.

Closer to home, the Lotus Eletre is currently priced in Malaysia from RM499,000 to RM839,000, depending on variant.

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