Lotus drives to record year as Geely takeover bears fruit
Lotus has produced a record number of sports cars in the first half of the year, as its takeover by Chinese carmaker Geely begins to bear fruit.
The British automaker said it had built 2,200 of its Lotus Emiras so far at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk, marking a colossal 381 per cent increase year-on-year.
Based on its current production output, Lotus said it expects this year’s sales and production to surpass all others.
Huangzhou-based Geely first bought a 51 per cent stake in the firm in 2017 and has helped engineer the firm’s revival with over £3bn in investment since.
Under its Chinese owners, the Norwich-headquartered firm has been teeing up sales of its first electric SUV, the Lotus Emira.
Ramped up production of the new model, from the company’s first all-electric factory in Wuhan, looks to be paying off, with an impressive order book of approximately 17,000 worldwide this year.
Deliveries began in China at the end of March and are expected to be rolled out to UK and European customers by the end of summer.
Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group, said: “We have spent the last few years laying the foundations for success and today’s announcement demonstrates that Lotus is no longer the same business that it has been in previous years. We are firmly on track to becoming a global performance brand by 2028.”
Shares were up slightly at 0.81 per cent in early trading.
Geely is currently plotting a US listing of the luxury sports car groups’ electric R and D division – Lotus Technology.