Lotus Sales : 2025 (Q1-Q3)

Lotus Cars has always been a problem child. The issue hasn't been the product. Far from it. It's been about profitability or the lack of. Current owners are Geely (51%) and Etika Automotive (49%), a Chinese-Malaysian collaboration.

The current range consists of the Eletre and Emeya electric SUV/GT,  made in China. The petrol powered Emira and limited volume electric Evija sports cars, made in the UK. 

To the right we can see the last three years of sales, minus one quarter. Things took off in 2023 and continued through 2024. By 2025, orders had been met and a return to relative normality.

A hybrid version of the Eletre SUV is planned for 2026 and that should noticeably lift sales. A hybrid Emira and a smaller SUV are planned for 2027. 

Now looking at models, or more precisely. the two segments they reside in. Comparing Q1-Q3, the Car/SUV grouping is up from 53% to 72%. Both are down in volume and combined that is -40%. 

The sports car side of the business basically revolves around one model and therefore is going to boom with a new model and then fall away to something more reflective of true demand.

As for regions, China has emerged as the largest for Lotus sales, with 46% of the total. It's also the only region that increased. It would be safe to assume that the Car/SUV models would be the main cars sold there, while the sports cars are the more popular elsewhere. 

Data and photo source: Lotus Cars. 

Photos (from the top). Eletre, Emira, Evija and Emeya.

Brands From China In Australia : 2025 (Jan -Oct)

There has been an upsurge of cars made in China coming to Australia. In October 27,700 vehicles came from Japan, 20,800 from Thailand and 20,400 from China. Even a couple of years ago, that would have seemed far fetched. No one would doubt that it will continue to grow. 

The chart to the right shows brands that are based in China. It includes passenger cars and light commercials. 

Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increase over 12 months of 2024. There have been impressive gains plus a host of newbies.

BYD is in its third full year and already has 4.2% market penetration. MG and Haval are both in their 8th full year and while they do well here, they have both lost some ground in 2025. 

New arrivals for 2025 have a n/a in the +/- column to indicate that. 2026 will herald in yet more brands, which will be making it a crowded market place. There is such a thing as too much choice. 

Data source: FCAI. 

Photo source: GWM (Tank 300 model - above) & Deepal (E07- below) Australia. 

Brands From China In The UK : 2025 (Jan -Oct)

The UK has seen a sudden rush of new Chinese brands entering the market. MG has been around since the demise of MG Rover but only reached five digit volume in 2019. 

The list to the right has UK ranking, market share and increase or decrease of market share which compares 10 months of 2025 with 12 months of 2024. 

The list covers brands that exclusively source cars from China so the 8.9% would be lower than the full number of cars sourced from there. 

MG has an advantage of being well established before the recent invasion but with market share down slightly they may be feeling the impact of the new arrivals. BYD is its usual aggressive self and the rest have arrived in 2024 or 2025, the latter shows a 'n/a'. 

I have yet to investigate other European markets but the UK would seem to have far more Chinese brands doing well. The EU has imposed tariffs on electric cars due to their claim of unfair subsidies. The UK isn't doing the same. I wonder how Nissan Leaf sales will go in the UK, as it is produced there and doesn't need unfair competition. 

For others in the series: Singapore. New Zealand.

Photo source: MG (HS), BYD (Dolphin Surf) & Nissan (Leaf).