Lotus is gearing up to reveal its first SUV, codenamed the Type 132, on March 29, 2022.
Leading up to the reveal, Lotus has uploaded more photos and a short video previewing the Type 132. All the imagery has a yellow background like the Lotus badge.
The teaser photos are labelled Heart, Power, Energy and Soul, and show off certain aspects of the upcoming SUV.
During the short video there are also very short glimpses of the front and rear of the Type 132. There seem to be light bars on both the front and rear fascias, a design cue currently popular among many automakers.
The Heart teaser showcases the electric powertrain of the Type 132 with Lotus lettering on its top.
In the short video it pieces the electric motor together to show how compact it is.
The Power teaser shows the two-tone alloy wheel the Type 132 will have. There are elements of what appears to be carbon fibre on the spokes of the rim.
Behind the wheel is a Lotus-branded brake caliper painted in blue and yellow, along with a slotted brake disc.
The Energy teaser showcases what appears to be the headlight unit the Type 132 will have.
The headlight’s lighting signature is made up of what seems to be a larger daytime running light strip and a number of smaller light strips that run at a perpendicular angle.
Lastly, the Soul teaser shows what the driver will see ahead of them inside the Type 132.
The steering wheel has a Lotus badge and appears to be hexagonal with Alcantara and metallic elements, as well as a number of touch-capacitive buttons. There are also paddle shifters behind it.
The teaser video shows the right-hand paddle will control the drive mode of the Type 132. By pressing the top and bottom of the paddle shifter you’ll be able to cycle through the modes in different directions.
It’s unclear what the left-hand paddle shifter will adjust at this stage, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it adjusts the regenerative braking.
In the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 for example, both the left and right paddle shifters are dedicated to adjusting the regenerative braking.
On the dash there’s what appears to be a slim digital instrument cluster that reads “Drive” in the middle.
To the right of the instrument cluster is a triangular shape that could be some sort of home button or status icon, and on the left there’s small text that reads “Lotus Code: Type 132 Reveal: Spring 2022”.
Lotus has previously revealed a similar suite of teasers for the Type 132 referred to as Awaken, Breathe, See, and Stretch.
These particular teaser images showed the Type 132’s active rear aero, active grille shutters, front LiDAR sensor, and tablet-style infotainment touchscreen.
The Type 132 SUV will be a rival for the Porsche Cayenne, and Lotus says it’ll follow it with an E-segment four-door coupe – think Mercedes-Benz CLS-size – in 2023.
A D-segment SUV, the Type 134, will follow in 2025, while a sports car, the Type 135, will follow in 2026.
The company has previously previewed these models in a shadowy teaser.
They will join the all-electric Evija hypercar and the Emira, Lotus’ last petrol-powered car, which are manufactured at Hethel in the UK.
Lotus is in the process of rolling out four new platform architectures:
- Hypercar, used by the Evija
- Sports Car, used by the Emira
- E-Sport, to be used by electric Lotus and Alpine sports cars
- Premium, to be used by everything else
The Premium architecture has been designed to accommodate C-E segment vehicles, and Lotus says it supports a wheelbase range from 2889mm to 3100mm and could be expanded further.
Vehicles on this architecture will use 92-120kWh batteries with an 800V charging system, and will be capable of 0-100km/h times of under three seconds.
Lotus is on the cusp of a significant expansion that’ll see it transformed into a higher-volume, more global electric vehicle (EV) brand.
Previous reports have indicated the Lotus Type 132 SUV has been shown in London to gauge investors’ interest in an initial public offering (IPO).
Autocar reports an IPO would be for the new Lotus Technology division, which will produce a range of electric sedans and SUVs at a new plant in Wuhan, China, not the familiar Lotus Cars division.
A Lotus spokesperson told the publication that it’s weighing up the listing in the UK, USA, or China over the next 12-24 months, and would value it at £5-6 billion (A$9.16-11 billion).
Pictured: Lotus Technology Wuhan headquarters
The Chinese-owned company has reportedly told investors it plans to sell 100,000 cars annually by 2028, for which 90,000 will be electric sedans and SUVs produced by Lotus Technology.
It reportedly plans to increase sales volumes up to 150,000 vehicles annually.
According to Bloomberg, potential investors have also been told Lotus expects half its sales volume to come from China in five years.
MORE: Lotus Type 132 SUV teased, reveal set for Autumn 2022
MORE: Lotus eyeing IPO for EV division – report
