New Lotus owner Geely is planning a £1.5 billion-plus investment in the brand, in its attempt to push the small British manufacturer into the big leagues of sports car production.
Geely’s plan includes increasing its 51% stake in Lotus, which would mean buying more from Malaysian co-owner Etika Automotive.
A new design centre in Coventry is planned for Lotus, as is growth of the brand’s Hethel headquarters, with 200 new engineers due to be hired. After this, another Midlands-based plant will handle the expanded production as the brand grows.
This is in addition to a new factory in China that the brand would use to cater for demand in the Far East. Geely boss Li Shufu reiterated the brand’s commitment to the UK, though, saying: "This is just like what we have done with the London Taxi Company: engineer in Britain, design in Britain and built in Britain. We see no reason to move fifty years of combined experience to China; let them do what they do best, in Britain.”
Geely stated in an email to Bloomberg that it is “fully committed to restoring Lotus into being a leading global luxury brand". It’s thought that the firm has the likes of Porsche in its sights for Lotus’s new market position. The brand's first move into Porsche-like territory will be an SUV, due in 2020.
Li's plan to turn his company into a major global player is one of the industry’s most aggressive; shortly after acquiring Lotus and a 49.9% stake in parent company Proton, Geely spent £6.4 billion acquiring almost 10% of Mercedes-Benz's parent company, Daimler, becoming its largest single shareholder.
Read more:
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Lotus production to continue in Norfolk, could also begin in China, says Geely owner
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Geeley
I actually drove a Geeley car and I am surprised that they have not marketed them. In Europe and America the perceived quality is there. If lotus cannot succeed under their stewardship. Time to burn the operations and collect the insurance money.
LTI got a new expanded facility in Coventry
Lotus certainly will use LTI facility that was built by Geely to increase its production, only reason why.
As with the LTI that now uses Volvo engines - the 1.5 liter 3 cylinder from the XC40, can we expect Lotus dropping the use of Toyota units (1.8 pot-four for Elise/Exige and V6 for Evora) and move to Volvos too? The 2.5 liter 5 cylinder used in the 850R and MK2 Focus ST/RS is still one of the best in the market and pretty sure could find some use by Lotus...
Great News
i’ve huge admiration for what Geely have achieved with Volvo and London Taxi Co so have every confidence their investment is not going to be another false dawn for a Lotus. Geely, like Tara with JLR, have proved great custodians of the brands that they have bought. Unlike the Amercians they seem to have give the local engineers and designers their heads and not foisted their own parts on to their subsidiary companies. Great vote of confidence in UK automotive industry at a time when we have got to salvage some of the damage that is arising from Brexit.