Top-Class Electric SUV
The name Lotus has been synonymous with sports cars for decades. Now, the Eletre, the first all-electric SUV from Lotus, is taking to the roads around the globe. Onboard is state-of-the-art driveline technology from ZF.
Heard of Hethel in England? Probably not. But you ought to have. Especially if you are a car enthusiast. Although the remote village eleven kilometers southwest of Norwich has only a few hundred inhabitants, it has been home to the Lotus Cars plc plant and the corporate headquarters of the world-famous sports car brand Lotus since 1966. In the east, next to a forest and otherwise surrounded by fields, sports cars such as the Lotus Emira are still being built here in the countryside. After an eventful history, Lotus became part of the Geely Group in 2017, with production facilities not only in the UK. Industry experts were astonished to learn in spring 2022 about the sports car manufacturer's plans to offer an all-electric SUV. Dubbed the Eletre, it is being built at the Lotus Global EV Production Centre in Wuhan, China.
Unveiled at Auto Shanghai in spring 2023, the Lotus Eletre went on sale in Europe in September. Onboard the Sino-British vehicle is the latest technology from ZF – for the drive and for the chassis. The ZF cubiX software controls all chassis functions, including the brakes, front and rear axle steering, semi-active damping, active roll stabilization system, along with the electric drive.
CubiX Controls the Vehicle Dynamics
For a pleasant driving experience, it is crucial that longitudinal, lateral and vertical dynamics are harmoniously coordinated. In addition to optimized driving behavior in terms of comfort, dynamics and efficiency, the software forms the basis for comprehensive driver assistance systems. As the first pure software product from ZF, cubiX offers a decisive advantage: the platform is compatible with actuators such as dampers, brakes or rear axle steering - regardless of the manufacturer or the specific design. This makes it flexible.
Software is becoming a key differentiator in automotive industry.
Future software updates or upgrades are carried out "over the air" - i.e. wirelessly without a visit to the workshop. This means that the software remains up-to-date throughout the vehicle's entire service life, meaning that additional functions can be added at any time after the vehicle has been delivered. This makes cubiX an example of the development towards a software-defined vehicle: away from the many individual controls of hardware components and towards overarching domain and zone architectures.
Upscale Electric SUV With Sports Car DNA
As befits an electric full-size luxury car, the Eletre is based on an 800-volt architecture with silicon carbide technology. This improves charging performance and range. ZF supplies the highly integrated electric axle drive to deliver the propulsion in this SUV. This drive consists of a permanently excited synchronous motor (PSM) with hairpin design, software, the reduction gear unit and power electronics with silicon carbide semiconductors. "Electric motor production for the Eletre and final assembly take place close to the customer at the ZF Hangzhou plant; this is the first volume production launch of this kind of drive in the Asia-Pacific region," explains Sebastian Schmitt, Head of the Electrified Powertrain Systems product line at ZF.
The Lotus SUV is available in three versions: the Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R. All of them feature the same all-wheel drive, differing solely in terms of equipment and engine output. The two electric motors from ZF with single-speed transmission for the Eletre and the Eletre S deliver a combined 450 kW (603 hp) at a maximum torque of 710 Nm. As a result, the SUV sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. Absolute precision in the production of the motors ensures top-class acoustic properties. One of the two electric drives in the Eletre R with two-speed transmission comes from Geely.
Compact e-motor based on hairpin technology with highest power density.
This vehicle puts down a total of 675 kW (905 hp) at 985 Nm onto the road, allowing it to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 2.95 seconds. This is the same figure achieved by the Lotus Evija in 2019, a supercar prototype with an engine that was more than twice as powerful. Given the sports car figures of all three Eletre models, the vehicle classification Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) is something of a typical British understatement.
800-Volt Technology: Charge Faster, Drive Farther
Fitted with a 112 kWh lithium-ion battery, Lotus promises a range of up to 600 km for the Eletre basic model, up to 535 km for the Eletre S and up to 450 km for the Eletre R. Thanks to the 800-volt system architecture, a recharging stop of just 20 minutes is enough to charge the battery from ten percent to 80 percent.
The Lotus Eletre and the Eletre S are each powered by two electric ZF motors.
If you happen to be traveling to Norfolk, England, soon, why not make a little detour and go to Hethel? Lotus offers car fans a guided tour of the plant from Monday through Thursday. Although visitors cannot see the high-end SUV Eletre being built, the chance to see the Lotus Emira sports car being assembled is just as exciting.
