Lotus has launched a new online retail platform to sell parts, accessories and consumables directly to consumers.

The sportscar brand estimates that up to 70% of its cars are still on the road worldwide and wants to encourage more owners to keep their cars running.

Lotus completed the switch to an agency model agreement for its 13 franchised car retail sites ahead of the arrival of the new Emira coupe in showrooms, at the start of the year.

The new e-commerce site has thousands of parts, accessories and consumables available to buy, from 1981 and the era of the Esprit and Excel, to the more recent Elise, Exige and Evora. All components are either original from period or manufactured to OEM specifications.

Chris Hinks, Lotus aftersales director, said: “A Lotus car is designed, developed and built to be driven in a spirited way, and so it’s vital that we support owners in keeping their cars performing as our engineers intended. Moving our entire parts and accessories business to this new and fully searchable online portal is improving our service to them.”

To ensure that the right part is selected, a comprehensive search tool is located on the landing page, including the Lotus model, year, driveline and trim level. Further assistance can be found via the official Lotus parts manuals, also available for purchase on the platform.

In addition, the site includes the full range of contemporary Lotus lifestyle merchandise, clothing and accessories. Legacy items, such as period keyrings and car covers for older Lotus cars, are also available. Aimed initially at UK customers, they can either collect from, or choose direct delivery from, their local retailer agent.

Hinks added: “Some Lotus owners have their own workshop facilities and take pleasure maintaining their cars themselves, others rely on authorised retailers and repairers. We always encourage our customers to keep their cars maintained to specification for the full ‘signed-off’ experience, and parts.lotuscars.com will significantly improve our already outstanding levels of service, making that easier than ever.”

Lotus is expanding its model line-up with a new electric SUV, the Eletre, which will go on sale next year.

The Eletre is said to have a battery capacity of “more than 100kWh”, giving a range of around 350 miles. Lotus also stated that 248-miles of range can be added in 20 minutes, using a 350kW rapid charger.