British sportscar maker Lotus is considering building its new plug-in hybrid SUV in the US after tariffs dented sales of its Chinese-made electric vehicles.

Lotus, backed by Chinese parent company Geely Holding Group, saw its global deliveries fall 46% to 6,520 vehicles last year, due largely to its collapse in the US market following the imposition of the 100% tariff.

CFO Daxue Wang told Nikkei Asia that the Eletre X, Lotus’ first hybrid SUV, will allow the company to reach buyers unwilling to switch to fully electric vehicles while retaining its focus on affluent American customers.

Despite surging demand for hybrid vehicles in the US, sales of the Eletre X will “really depend on the tariffs,” Wang said. The company has not set a US launch date for the new model, which is available in China and will be on sale in Europe the last quarter of this year.

Traditionally a maker of high-performance sports cars, Lotus began selling a battery-electric SUV in the US in September 2024 to reach a wider customer base. But higher tariffs mean its price has more than doubled to USD 230,000, a level Wang concedes is untenable. Sales, he said, have been slow, averaging just one or two units a month.

“That’s not our intention to price that high in the markets,” he said, noting that cars sold in China and Europe are nearly half the price. Wang said that Lotus’ gas-powered Emira sportscar remains the main driver of its US sales for now.

The expansion of its product lineup is a shift from its previous ambitions of having EVs account for 90% of sales by 2028. After spending much of the past several years bundling out its electric portfolio, Lotus now joins a growing list of automakers rethinking their EV strategies as demand for hybrids continues in the US and other key markets.

As part of a strategic reset that it calls “Focus 2030,” the company’s new long-term sales target is 60% hybrids and 40% electric.

Given the tariff situation, Wang said Lotus has spent a considerable amount of time studying the feasibility of building cars in the US and has identified the South Carolina factory of Volvo, another Geely company, as a potential partner manufacturer. Wang stressed, however, that no decision has been made.

“It’s one option,” he said. “We are doing the evaluation work.”

Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights, said the Volvo factory is underutilized, but even if Lotus produces the hybrid SUV locally, it will have to compete with German automakers that also offer premium cars.

“Lotus doesn’t have much of a history in the US,” he said. “Lots of nostalgia surrounds the brand, specifically among race enthusiasts, but unless they can move the brand into a more mainstream standing—which no one’s been able to do—I really see Lotus continuing to struggle,” Le added.

China’s Geely, which also owns Polestar and Zeekr, bought 51% of Lotus in 2017 and has poured billions of US dollars into reviving the lossmaking car group.

The company aims for 30,000 vehicles in annual sales by the end of the decade, a sharp downgrade from its previous goal of 150,000 a year by 2028.

Lotus sold 1,048 cars in North America last year. It recently began shipping its electric SUVs to Canada under a deal between Canada and China allowing the import of 49,000 Chinese-built EVs. Wang described it as a “breakthrough,” adding that Canada would serve as the company’s key North American market unless the US lowers its tariff rates.

“The United States market is kind of uncertain … but it’s still a very strategic, important market for us,” he said.

This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.