Lotus Emira to Launch as Plug-In Hybrid in 2027

Lotus may be facing one of its toughest financial periods in years — including job cuts at its Hethel headquarters in the UK — but the brand is still looking ahead. During a recent second-quarter earnings call, CEO Feng Qingfeng shared updates on upcoming products, particularly the Lotus Emira sports car. Originally intended to be Lotus’s final combustion-powered model, the Emira will now live on. A refreshed version is slated for 2027, bringing with it a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The upcoming ‘Hyper Hybrid’ system is expected to draw from the technology debuting in the Eletre later this year, though with key differences. Unlike the Eletre, which was conceived from the ground up as a battery-electric vehicle, the Lotus Emira is built on an older combustion-engine platform. While some technology may be shared between the two, it won’t be as simple as blending both approaches into a flawless middle ground.

Supercharged Toyota V6 Faces the End

Lotus has long relied on outsourced powerplants from Toyota and Mercedes-AMG rather than producing its own engines. But the supercharged 3.5-liter Toyota V6 — a fixture in Lotus sports cars for years — appears unlikely to survive, even in hybrid form. The company has previously confirmed the engine cannot be adapted to meet upcoming European emissions standards, and with Toyota already discontinuing the unit following the last Camry, it seems the Japanese brand will be more than willing to end production altogether.

The Lotus Emira other powertrain option is a turbocharged four-cylinder sourced from AMG. Its future also remains unclear, though Mercedes has already paired versions of this engine with plug-in hybrid systems in models such as the AMG C63 S E-Performance.

Plug-in hybrid tech isn’t entirely new territory for Lotus. Back in 2010, the brand unveiled the Evora 414E concept, which combined a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine with a 17 kWh battery, delivering 35 miles of electric range. Of course, plug-in technology has advanced dramatically since then. With today’s lighter, more power-dense batteries, a PHEV version of the Lotus Emira could achieve impressive range and performance without sacrificing its trademark lightweight character. What remains uncertain is the sourcing of its battery, e-motor, and combustion components. With the U.S. being a crucial market, Lotus will need to steer clear of Chinese-sourced powertrain elements — a potential challenge given its ties to Geely, one of the company’s owners.

There have also been rumors that future versions of the Lotus Emira could adopt a Mercedes-AMG V8. What remains unclear, however, is whether this would form part of a hybrid setup or be offered alongside the plug-in hybrid specifically for markets like the U.S., where demand for V8 engines has been making a comeback.

Lotus Losses Partially Offset by Strong Sales in China

The Lotus Emira future was one of the few positives highlighted during Lotus’s recent earnings call. Overall, however, the company is facing a challenging period. For the first half of 2025, Lotus posted a net loss of $313 million — an improvement over the $424 million loss recorded during the same period last year. The financial performance was largely supported by stronger sales of the Eletre SUV and the new Emeya electric sedan in China.

CEO Feng Qingfeng didn’t delve into the recent layoffs of 550 staff at Lotus’s Hethel headquarters, instead emphasizing potential efficiencies from merging Lotus Technologies with Lotus Cars. ‘We see big room for efficiency improvements while we consolidate many functions together, including technology synergies,’ he said, adding that Lotus has ‘ambitious goals for the Lotus Cars operation in the future.’ Feng highlighted a continued focus on ‘very-high-performance attributes and high-performance engineering services.’ Recent reports suggest Lotus could support other brands with vehicle engineering — and possibly even production — with the Polestar 6 cited as a potential candidate for Lotus’s expertise.

Lotus has sold just 2,813 vehicles in the first half of 2025, nearly half the number it achieved during the same period in 2024. A major factor in this decline was the tariff situation in the UK, which forced Lotus to halt Emira deliveries to the U.S. earlier this year. Only 891 Emiras were delivered in the first six months of 2025, a 64% drop. However, Lotus’s challenges predate recent administrations. Even under President Biden, a 102% tariff on Chinese-built vehicles has weighed heavily on the prospects of the Eletre and Emeya.