For British car enthusiasts, the name Lotus is more than just a badge—it’s a legacy. Since 1966, nearly every Lotus road car has rolled out of the same factory in Hethel, Norfolk. It's a place deeply intertwined with the brand’s identity. So when rumors started swirling that Lotus might shut down its historic facility, fans around the world held their breath.
Lotus quickly denied the claims. “The UK is the heart of the Lotus brand,” a company spokesperson emphasized. “It’s home to our sports car manufacturing, global design center, motorsport operations, and Lotus Engineering. It’s also our largest commercial market in Europe.”
Still, words and sentiment aren’t enough to mask a harsh reality: Hethel has been practically idle since mid-May. According to sources inside the company, production was paused to manage inventory due to ongoing supply chain issues and the impact of U.S. tariffs. The Emira, Lotus’s flagship mid-engine sports coupe, is assembled in the UK but relies on imported powertrains—Toyota’s 3.5-liter V6 from Alabama and AMG’s 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four from Germany. With tariffs reshaping logistics, production quickly became tangled.
Although Hethel was upgraded in 2021 with over $140 million in investment and a capacity of 10,000 units annually, only around 560 Emiras were built in Q1 2025—a staggering 50% drop compared to the same period in 2024. The Financial Times even cited internal sources suggesting that Lotus had trouble paying suppliers, and that Hethel might be shuttered as early as next year.
This uncertainty is part of a broader existential crisis for the brand. In 2024, parent company Geely laid out an ambitious plan to scale Lotus up to 150,000 cars per year by 2028, with most of that volume coming from its Wuhan, China factory. The Eletre electric SUV and Emeya electric sedan were supposed to lead the charge, followed by a Porsche Macan EV competitor in 2027.
But the plan has crumbled under geopolitical and market pressure. Following the Trump administration’s announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, Lotus suspended U.S. sales of the Eletre, and indefinitely delayed the Emeya launch. The brand’s electric dreams suddenly seemed wildly out of touch with reality.
“In recent years, premium BEV penetration has not met our expectations,” Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng admitted on a recent earnings call. The company had hoped to sell 30,000 units annually of the Eletre and Emeya by 2026. Instead, fewer than 720 were delivered globally in Q1 2025. The electric midsize SUV project has since been shelved.
To recover, Geely is racing to re-engineer the Eletre and Emeya into extended-range EVs (EREVs) using its Leishin Power hybrid system. This tech blends an internal combustion engine with electric motors, and uses multiple clutches to manage power distribution efficiently—ensuring the engine always runs in its optimal range. The upcoming EREVs are projected to deliver up to 680 miles of combined range per charge and tank.
Yet even with tech improvements, tariffs remain a wall Lotus can’t climb. Producing in China effectively cuts the U.S.—its most important market—out of the equation. That’s why Feng confirmed the company is now seriously considering U.S. manufacturing.
He didn’t name a facility, but all eyes are on Volvo’s underused Ridgeville plant in South Carolina. Built in 2018 with a $1.4 billion investment and capacity for 150,000 vehicles per year, Ridgeville only produced around 20,000 units in 2023. With Volvo looking to bring more models into the plant, Lotus could easily piggyback on the existing infrastructure.
The Ridgeville plant already builds electric models like the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3. And while Volvo might add the XC60 to the line-up, total production would still leave plenty of breathing room. If Lotus were to bring both the Eletre and Emeya there—and perhaps even the Emira—it would streamline logistics and put production directly in the heart of its target market.
From Austin, Texas, enthusiast Mike Johnson says, “If I could get a Lotus that’s engineered in Britain and built in the U.S., that’s the best of both worlds. You get the heritage with none of the wait or import headaches.”
Meanwhile, the Emira is also undergoing its own transition. With Toyota’s V6 set to be phased out due to tightening Euro 7 emissions rules, Lotus plans to equip all future Emiras with AMG’s 2.0-liter turbo-four starting in 2026. Mercedes has committed $15 billion to keep its internal combustion engine program alive until at least 2035, meaning the Emira could have a life well into the next decade.
But whether it’ll continue to be built in Hethel is another question. Despite the company's official denials, the plant increasingly looks like a liability. In an era of globalized, cost-conscious carmaking, nostalgia alone isn’t enough to keep a factory open.
As the industry shifts, Lotus finds itself straddling two worlds: one rooted in British racing romance, the other forged in the reality of American and Chinese economics. The company may not be ready to close Hethel’s doors just yet—but the winds of change are blowing hard, and Lotus might not have a choice for long.