Lotus is a legendary automotive brand, but it doesn’t boast the biggest lineup in the world. In fact, in the United States, it only sells one car, the Emira sports car. The biggest complaint with that is that it is so good, people want more from the British manufacturer.
Interestingly, however, there is one car Lotus makes that isn’t likely to head to America, yet could do well in the country. That is, of course, the Eletre. This is the electric SUV introduced a few years ago, which admittedly isn’t to everyone’s tastes.
The idea of a Lotus not only having electric power, but also being an SUV, didn’t appeal to that many people. Yet SUVs as a whole are popular, and it is arguably a car that the American consumer would take quite a shine to. But it’s never made its way over the Atlantic.
There is, however, a very good reason for that. In a recent interview with MotorTrend, President and CEO of Lotus Americas Massimiliano Trantini said the company was ready to bring it over to America. But when the new tariffs kicked in, the company had to think twice.
Tariffs Put the Brakes on the Lotus Eletre in America
Trantini revealed that the latest tariffs in 2025 from President Donald Trump and his administration firmly put up a roadblock on the car entering America. In fact, it had completed all of the preparations necessary to bring the electric SUV across the Atlantic before the entire process was curtailed.
The Eletre had even been through the homologation process. It really was ready to go. The tariffs meant the company had to think quite hard about what cars it sold in the United States. The 2025 Eletre Carbon was offered in the US, although it had a huge asking price of $230,000. More than a lot of people would have been prepared to pay for an SUV.
On that trim, though, the 100 percent tariff that would have been on the car could have been handled by the company. Then the tariff went up to 150 percent, and that is when Lotus stepped back and said “no.” “At this level of duty, the business case no longer works; not for Lotus, not for our dealers, and ultimately not for our customers,” said Trantini. “That is why the Eletre is not offered beyond the 2025 model year. We want to give the right value for money to our customers,” he added.
Customers Might Have Loved the Lotus Eletre
It wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but there was a lot to love about the Eletre. The fully electric version produces 905hp in total, and has a 0-62mph time of just 2.9 seconds, which for an SUV sounds utterly ludicrous. The building of the SUV was a massive shift for the British brand, which is famous for lightweight, agile and very fast sports cars. The first Eletre made its debut in 2022, and back then it had 200hp.
One Lotus is, of course, in America, and that is the Emira sports car. Power for this comes from either a 2.0-liter AMG turbocharged inline-four engine or a 3.5-liter Toyota supercharged V6, with a new engine coming in 2030. However, don’t get too excited. After 2027, the Emira will no longer be on sale in America. It will be a one-year-only special, so grab it while you can.