Lotus looks set to fade further into obscurity in the U.S. market with news emerging that sales of the Evora 2+2 sports car in local showrooms could soon cease for the same reason Lotus’ Elise and Exige lines are no longer sold here. Like the Elise and Exige, the Evora doesn’t meeting the federal requirement for the fitment of smart airbags and was only allowed to be on sale here because of an exemption.
According to Car and Driver, that exemption has now expired, meaning Lotus will have to stop importing more Evoras. It’s not like the cars have been flying out the door, however, so remaining inventories should last at Lotus dealerships well into 2015—in case you were one of the few remaining Lotus fans in the country.
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Due to a lack of funds, Lotus isn’t expected to re-engineer its cars to meet the federal requirement—the company has just announced it’s looking to terminate more than a quarter of its global workforce—meaning that very soon Lotus dealers in the U.S. won’t have any street-legal models to sell. They will, however, be able to continue selling some track-only cars.
Lotus recently appointed an industry veteran as its new CEO. Since taking up the reins, he’s made the tough decision to rightsize the company and is expected to oversee the introduction of more mainstream models such as a sedan and even an SUV.
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