Lotus has teamed up with Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, and together they’re planning to develop a “new model for electric vehicle ownership” that “fully integrates future mobility and energy”.
First and foremost, the two partners have announced a flexible platform that will turn the future electric car into an extension of the home. This means that it will be able to store energy and act as a backup generator, and will also be able to push electricity back into the grid, thus generating income.
The two British companies added that they will establish a “new global charging and energy infrastructure for new products”. While further details surrounding this information have yet to be released, we could be looking at an exclusive charging network for Lotus’ future electric vehicles, similar to Tesla’s Supercharger. An open system that will benefit EVs from other manufacturers is not ruled out either.
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“Our journey to net-zero carbon is absolutely lock-in-step with the Vision80 strategy for Lotus – taking us to eighty years of the business in 2028. By then we will have transformed Lotus into a truly global player in the high-performance high-technology sector with a new range of cars that remain true to our fundamental promise of always being ‘For The Drivers’”, said Lotus CEO, Phil Popham.
“The difference is the energy and infrastructure that will power and support these products in the future – this new partnership demonstrates the progress being made and the ambition of our vision.”
In addition to announcing the new partnership with Centrica, Lotus has also released a short video that puts the spotlight on the Evija, which will enter production later this year. The zero-emission hypercar has a starting price of £1.7 million ($2.1 million) in the United Kingdom and promises to do 250 miles (400 km) on a single charge.
More impressively, the four electric motors develop a combined output of 1,972 HP (2,000 PS / 1,471 kW) and 1,254 lb-ft (1,700 Nm) of torque, enabling a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration of less than 3 seconds and a top speed that exceeds 200 mph (320 km/h).