What's Lotus Going to Look Like Under Geely's Ownership?
There has been some gentle complaining among select individuals that Chinese ownership will somehow taint the purity of the Lotus brand — a strange accusation considering the brand was operating under the Malaysia-based Proton Holdings since 1997 long before being bought by Geely Automotive earlier this year.
Sure, it might not be the Lotus of yesterday but the company’s new Chinese overwatch has said it still has big plans for the brand. Based on its handling of London Taxi and Volvo, we haven’t been overly concerned. But we have been hoping the parent company would elaborate on what that might entail.
According to a recent interview Autocar had with Geely President An Cong Hui, Lotus may undergo a return to form (of sorts) in the years to come. “We are making plans; we want to bring back the heritage of Lotus to be one of the top performers in the luxury sports car segment,” he explained. “Lotus used to be ranked alongside Ferrari and Porsche, so we need to come back in that rank again.”
However, things have changed quite a bit over the last decade. Porsche’s best-selling model is a sport utility vehicle and Ferrari is planning on building one of its own — so Lotus will probably need to do the same. Likely based upon the Compact Modular Architecture that underpins Volvo’s XC40 and Lynk & Co’s 01, the Lotus SUV will be optimized for performance but no one at Geely has said anything even remotely official. All we really know is that “something” is in the works.
Lotus will also continue producing pure-bred sports cars and, if the brand’s British leadership has its way, those units will continue being built in the United Kingdom. However, a new car has to be in the works. Lotus’ newest model, the Evora, has been in production since 2010 while the oldest in the current lineup, the Elise, has been around since 1996.
While the Evora still gets heaps of praise from the enthusiast community, it’s not a hot property anymore. The brand will need something fresh to challenge its rivals with eventually and, with new capital coming from China, it’s only a matter of time.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I didn't know they were still in business... I tried to climb into a Lotus Elise one time maybe 10 years ago, had to crawl back out, and would have had to remove my shoes to work the pedals...not my kind of car.
What's Lotus going to look like under Geely's ownership? Easy. It's going to look like MG under SAIC's ownership.