Lotus UK has denied that it is planning to end production at its Hethel base and move car production to the US.
On Friday, a source told Autocar that the order to stop has come from Lotus's Geely management in China, with a move across the pond a result of growing tariff uncertainty.
Asked about this by Autocar, Lotus didn’t provide a comment but did confirm that production of the Emira sports car at Hethel has been paused since mid-May as the firm manages the fallout from the increase in tariffs in its key market of the US.
Lotus has subsequently posted a statement on social media, headed “the UK is the heart of the Lotus brand”. It reads: “Lotus Cars is continuing normal operations. There are no plans to close any factory.”
It affirms that the UK is “home to our sports car manufacturing, global design centre, motorsport operations and Lotus Engineering” but adds that Lotus is “actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in an evolving market”.
According to The Financial Times, that statement came after the UK government indicated to Lotus that it was prepared to offer support to protect British jobs.
The newspaper claimed that business secretary Jonathan Reynolds was due to meet with Lotus officials on Sunday 28 June.
Lotus's plan to build cars in the US is in part to eradicate tariff barriers.
“We believe that localisation is a feasible plan,” Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said on his company’s first quarter earnings call on 25 June. “We are trying to leverage our US strategy to catch up the losses due to the tariff hike.”
Feng said that Lotus had an “in-depth discussion with our strategic partners” to build in the US, without mentioning names.
The strongest possibility is that Lotus moves some production, including possibly the Emira, to fellow Geely brand Volvo’s under-utilised plant in South Carolina.
Lotus has scrambled to reduce costs amid persistent losses. The company in April laid off 270 workers at Hethel and Autocar understands its Clerkenwell (London) headquarters is set to close, having only been opened a few months ago at huge expense. The brand’s flagship store on Park Lane has been transferred to dealer group HR Owen, understood to also be part of a cost-cutting move.
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And yet you keep the click bait headline even though it was based on supposition and has since been denied. The faux rage from the people in the comments who have never bought a new Lotus in their lives is also amusing.
This is bigger than just closing a historic factory. It is about what Lotus really wants to be in a market that punishes nostalgia if it does not pay its way. A motor industry executive would probably see Hethel as an expensive asset that must prove its worth, either as a specialist hub for heritage or high-value low-volume cars, or as part of a smarter global production plan. Government money might delay closure for now, but unless Lotus aligns its brand and products with real market demand, shutting Hethel is rational, not betrayal. The real task is to define what Lotus should be for the next decade, not just fight to keep the past alive.
It's a disgrace a foreign company has been allowed to destroy the manufacturing base of another British icon. Forget the electric crap and reinvent the elite, exige ice range
Not sure where to start here Mart; the only reason a '"foreign company has been allowed to destroy the manufacturing base of another British icon" is because that so called British icon was a failing business, going bankrupt, and was thus sold to the highest bidder (Chinese, not British) to stay afloat. The only disgrace is that the management of what you refer to as that 'British icon' was so poorly managed. The reality is the "foreign company" you refer to has ensured that the Lotus brand continued. Oh, and as an after thought, how many new Lotus have you purchased and how much of your money are you willing to send to Hethel to keep Lotus a "British icon"?
Well said.
Lotus has failed to sell enough cars forever...Geely saved it.
Ditto Volvo.
Lotus has failed to sell enough cars forever...Geely saved it.
Lol, let's get back control of our foreign companies and impose them what to sell.