Maybe you could call it "simplify, and add a ton of electric range."
Lotus is not only developing an entire family of electric vehicles—including the already unveiled Eletre SUV and Emeya sedan—but also its own range of charging solutions as part of its goal of becoming an all-electric brand by 2028.
The now-Geely-owned automaker, still famous primarily for its lightweight sports cars, has unveiled its next-generation charging solutions. Those include an ultra-fast 450 kW DC charger, a power cabinet, and a modular unit for charging up to four vehicles at once.
Already available in China and expected to launch in most European and Middle Eastern countries in the second quarter of 2024, these charging solutions should help decrease range anxiety and increase confidence in the charging infrastructure, according to Lotus.
The star of the range is the Liquid-Cooled All-in-One DC Charger, which offers ultra-fast charging of up to 450 kW. Using the Lotus Eletre R as an example, five minutes of charging using this charger can add up to 88.5 miles or 142 kilometers of range. A 10% to 80% charge is said to take just 20 minutes.
Lotus told the UK's Autocar that this charger has been developed mainly for "charge point operators, fleet providers and dealerships." The automaker said the system will be "particularly effective" on EVs equipped with 800V charging hardware, such as the Lotus Eletre.
Gallery: Lotus charging solutions
The second product, called the Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet, is a modular power cabinet designed for spaces such as highway rest stops, which require high energy to increase efficiency and minimize charging time. Lotus says this system offers "market-leading power output capabilities of up to 480 kW."
Lotus' next-generation charging solutions also include the Liquid-Cooled Charging Unit. This terminal can charge up to four vehicles simultaneously when coupled with the Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet. It has a maximum current output of 600 Amp, which makes it suitable for all electric vehicles.
The automaker said it has chosen liquid-cooled technologies for its range of commercial charging solutions to make EV charging easier and quicker.
Lotus says it is futureproofing its charging offering by launching a 450 kW solution—at the moment Electrify America offers some 350 kW Hyper Fast Chargers and Tesla's V4 Superchargers are said to offer the same charging rate. Lotus expects its 450 kW capability to be the next step forward in fast charging when the infrastructure becomes readily available.
According to the automaker, Lotus customers will be able to easily upgrade to this power output without additional hardware costs "once in-market service providers rollout grid upgrades."
Lotus launched its first EV in 2019, the Evija hypercar, followed by its first electric SUV in 2022, the Eletre, for which deliveries in the UK, Europe, and China have begun in 2023. Earlier this year, the Lotus Emeya was unveiled in China as an electric hyper-GT expected to rival the Porsche Taycan.
While the future Lotus is planning is very different from the Elises and Esprits that made the brand famous—to say nothing of its prestigious racing history—here's hoping Geely can keep it going as a modern high-performance brand in the electrified future.
