The Story

Lotus Americas says U.S. tariffs have halted plans to sell the Chinese-built Eletre and Emeya EVs, leaving only the gas Emira for 2027.

For now, the Chinese-owned British automaker will only sell the gas-powered Emira here in the U.S. The rest is TBD. As a small, plucky automaker with a rich history that’s spent decades struggling to survive, Lotus is an easy brand to root for, one that still builds wonderful, engaging machines like the Emira 420 Sport we just drove. And in the wake of its acquisition by…

Since the acquisition, Lotus has added electric-powered models to its portfolio, namely the Eletre SUV and Emeya GT sedan. More recently, the Eletre (now called the For Me in China) was fitted with a powerful plug-in hybrid powertrain. There was some big noise about these Chinese-built electric Lotuses soon being sold in our market. And then, nothing. What happened?. In a…

Massimiliano Trantini, President and CEO of Lotus Americas, confirmed to MotorTrend in a recent interview that there are currently no model-year 2026 Eletres for sale in the U.S. (the Emeya was never offered for sale here). The only Eletres the company sold were the top-tier 2025 Lotus Eletre Carbon editions.

“We planned to bring the Eletre into the U.S.,” Trantini said. “We made all the activity to prepare the car, we got all the homologation. We were ready. When we decided to bring the car, the tariffs started kicking in, so we had to select carefully the car we wanted to bring. There was a moment where, with 100 percent tariff, we could still manage. We decided to take the…

Why It Matters

It stands to reason that even if tariffs weren’t an issue, the built-in-China Lotus models, which use Geely-sourced Chinese software and hardware, would be subject to the CVR, thereby effectively barring them from being sold here.

CarMotion Daily’s Take

For now, the Chinese-owned British automaker will only sell the gas-powered Emira here in the U.S. — the story from MotorTrend bears tracking.

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