Lotus to Release a Crossover in China in 2019

2006 Lotus APX Concept (Credit: © Lotus)

With the SUV craze starting to make its way around the world, Lotus is looking to hop on this bandwagon starting in 2019. Unfortunately, this sporty SUV will start only in China, and then slowly makes its way to Europe.

This report from Autocar stems from an interview with Lotus boss and savior-in-the-making Jean-Marc Giles. Lotus will use its partnership with Proton and Goldstar Heavy Industrial to build this crossover in China. This will not only help save construction costs, but it will also make its rollout in China a streamlined process, something the cash-conscious company needs to monitor heavily to remain in business.

Despite it breaking Lotus’ sports car mold, this won’t be some bland crossover that lacks any Lotus personality. In fact, this new Lotus people hauler is taking aim at the Porsche Macan, which is selling like mad in China.

The suspension will be tight, the weight will be low, and power will likely come from a high-output version of a Toyota engine – just like Lotus’ sports cars. Chances are the engine options will include a supercharged 1.8-liter engine and a blown 3.5-liter V-6. There are also talks of a hybrid model in the future.

Like the Macan, the Lotus SUV will likely have all-wheel drive available, but do not expect it to be a true off-road machine. Lotus will tune this system more for handling and for the occasional slippery road. So, if you’re looking for a rock-climbing Lotus, keep dreaming.

Lotus’ plans are to take things slow with its new crossover. It will start by launching the new model in China only, which has a huge crossover addiction, work out the kinks there, and then slowly move it into Japan and Europe. An American launch is possible, but the safety regulations here will likely make that rollout very slow.

As much as a Lotus SUV may seem blasphemous to some traditionalists, this is something that the iconic brand needs to survive. This is exactly the type of direction Porsche went to increase sales, and now the brand is better than ever. I hope that this can deliver the same type of success to Lotus.