The Lotus Emeya is available in four trims, three of which feature four LiDARs. Customers who order now can expect delivery in 6-8 weeks.

(Image credit: Lotus)

Geely majority-owned car company Lotus Cars has launched the Emeya electric sedan in China, making it the latest available EV in the RMB 1 million class.

Lotus rolled out the Emeya in China on January 18, offering four trims with starting prices of RMB 668,000 ($92,830), RMB 768,000, RMB 968,000, and RMB 1.18 million, respectively.

The Lotus Emeya measures 5,139 mm in length, 2,005 mm in width and 1,464 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,069 mm.

The car comes with dual electric motors as standard, with the front motor producing up to 225 kW and the rear motor offering 225 kW and 450 kW options.

Its two lowest-priced versions use two motors both with a maximum power of 225 kW, a combined peak power of 450 kW and a peak torque of 710 Nm, allowing the vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.15 seconds.

Its two most expensive versions have a combined peak power of 675 kW and peak torque of 985 Nm, enabling the vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.78 seconds.

The Lotus Emeya is equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of 102 kWh across the range, with the two lowest-priced versions both having a CLTC range of 650 kilometers, and the two higher-priced versions having a range of 520 kilometers and 480 kilometers, respectively.

Its assisted driving system is powered by two Nvidia Orin X chips.

Its entry-level version doesn't carry any LiDAR, while the other three versions carry four LiDARs, including two AT128s from Hesai as the main front and rear LiDARs, and two M-series from RoboSense placed on the sides of the car.

Customers ordering the Emeya now can expect delivery in 6-8 weeks, Lotus said.

In addition to launching the Emeya, Lotus yesterday added a new, less expensive version of its all-electric SUV, the Eletre, with a starting price of RMB 728,000 yuan.

The Eletre went on sale on October 26, 2022, with deliveries beginning on July 21, 2023. The SUV was previously available in China in two variants -- Eletre S+ and Eletre R+ -- with a starting price of RMB 828,000 and RMB 1,028,000 respectively.

The new variant reduces the Eletre's starting price by RMB 100,000, but eliminates features including rear-wheel steering, intelligent anti-roll control, and LiDAR.

Geely acquired Lotus, which has been around for about 70 years, in 2017 and owns 51 percent of the latter, including Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.

At the end of August 2021, Lotus established a new company in China, Wuhan Lotus Technology, with an investment from Capital.

($1 = RMB 7.1963)

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