- Lotus does not sell the 2026 Eletre in the United States.
- Lotus America President and CEO cites the US’s tariffs on imported Chinese-made cars as a major reason.
- Lotus will only sell the Emira in the US for the 2027 model year.
Lotus doesn’t have a huge lineup, with the only car it sells in America being the Emira sports car (which we love). That lineup is even smaller than it should be given that the British automaker doesn’t sell the 2026 Eletre electric SUV in the United States. But there’s a reason.
In an interview with MotorTrend, Massimiliano Trantini, President and CEO of Lotus Americas, revealed that the automaker was ready to bring the SUV to the US. But then the tariffs kicked in, forcing the company to reconsider. The company had planned to offer it here.
Trantini said that Lotus had completed all the preparations necessary to bring the car to America. It even went through the homologation process, but the company had to decide which cars it could realistically sell here.
Lotus did offer the 2025 Lotus Eletre Carbon edition in the US, which had an eye-watering price tag of $230,000. Trantini said that the company could manage the 100 percent tariff on that trim, but when the tariff rose to 150 percent, Lotus had to make some tough decisions. Trantini said:
‘At this level of duty, the business case no longer works; not for Lotus, not for our dealers, and ultimately not for our customers. That is why the Eletre is not offered beyond the 2025 model year. We want to give the right value for money to our customers.’
What Is The Lotus Eletre?
The Lotus Eletre is the automaker’s electric SUV, which recently received a plug-in hybrid powertrain in China. The EV produces up to 905 horsepower and can accelerate to 62 miles per hour in just 2.9 seconds.
The Eletre signaled a substantial shift for the Chinese-owned British brand, which built its reputation on lightweight sports cars. The new model debuted in 2022 with an output of 600 hp, gained a hotter variant, and weighs over 5,000 pounds.
Lotus builds the Eletre alongside the Emeya, the Emira, and the hand-built limited-run Evija supercar. In the United States, Lotus will sell just the Emira in 2027.
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Motor1’s Take: The crackdown on Chinese-made cars is likely to increase, with proposed legislation that would outright ban vehicles from companies with more than 15 percent ownership by Chinese entities. If the legislation passes, it will likely kill the Lotus brand in the United States, even if the automaker builds the Emira in the United Kingdom—it is still owned by Geely.
