Lotus boss calls for UK government support as it commits to Norfolk plant
Summary
Lotus, a luxury sports car company owned by China’s Geely, says it will keep making cars in its UK factory in Norfolk and wants government help to improve the site. The company plans to grow sales in the US by continuing to produce petrol sports cars in the UK while also selling new hybrid SUVs made in China in Europe.Key Facts
- Lotus has extended production of its £80,000 Emira petrol sports car in Norfolk to keep serving the US market.
- The Norfolk factory employs 900 people and currently produces 2,000 cars a year, with a capacity for 10,000.
- Lotus’s Chinese parent company, Geely, considered closing the UK factory last year and cut 550 jobs in August.
- Lotus CEO Qingfeng Feng said they are talking with the UK government about support, including infrastructure, not just financial help.
- The US and UK agreed to limit tariffs on 100,000 British car exports to 10%, helping Lotus sell nearly two-thirds of its cars there.
- Lotus will sell new Chinese-made hybrid SUVs in Europe and build a new hybrid-V8 petrol supercar called Type 135.
- Geely owns several European car brands and started owning Lotus in 2017 but faced financial restructuring.
- Lotus reduced its sales target from 150,000 cars a year by 2028 to 30,000, admitting the original plan was too ambitious.
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