A brand new report from Autocar will come as a shock to anybody who has adopted Lotus’ historical past. Based on the publication, the storied British sports activities automotive maker has been informed by proprietor Geely to organize its Hethel plant for closure after 59 years of manufacturing and transfer to the US, mentioned a supply.
The transfer was aimed toward shoring up manufacturing after the corporate was hard-hit by an ideal storm of circumstances on account of president Donald Trump coming again into energy. Manufacturing of the Emir sports activities automotive has been halted since mid-Could as Lotus managed the fallout of larger tariffsand whereas the Electre SUV was presupposed to widen the goal market and guard in opposition to such instabilities, the 100% tariff on Chinese language-made EVs has put paid to that, too. Gross sales of the automotive within the US have since stopped, it was reported.
In response, Lotus’ higher-ups have been mulling transferring manufacturing to eradicate tariff limitations, with CEO Feng Qingfeng saying in the course of the agency’s first quarter earnings name final Wednesday: “We consider that localisation is a possible plan. We are attempting to leverage our US technique to catch up the losses as a result of tariff hike.”
Feng added that the corporate has had an “in-depth dialogue with our strategic companions” to provide automobiles within the US, though he didn’t specify who these companions had been. Autocar speculated that the corporate might transfer some manufacturing, such because the Emira, to the under-utilised South Carolina plant of Geely’s different subsidiary Volvo.
Since Autocar reached out, nevertheless, Lotus has issued an announcement saying that there have been no plans to shut the manufacturing facility. “The UK is the guts of the Lotus model – house to our sports activities automotive manufacturing, international design centre, motorsport operations, and Lotus Engineering,” it mentioned. “Additionally it is our largest industrial market in Europe.”
It did, nevertheless, proceed to state that it’s “exploring strategic choices to boost effectivity and guarantee international competitiveness” in an evolving market. “We’ve got invested considerably in R&D and operations within the UK, over the previous six years. Lotus stays dedicated to the UK, and its clients, workers, sellers, suppliers, in addition to its proud British heritage.”
The assertion got here after the British authorities informed Lotus it was prepared to supply assist to guard native jobs, Autocar cited Monetary Instances. Enterprise secretary Jonathan Reynolds met with firm officers yesterday and was assured that “they’re dedicated to their UK operations and don’t have any plans to shut their Hethel plant,” The Guardian reported a division for enterprise and commerce spokesperson as saying.
Persistent losses have left Lotus scrambling to chop prices, together with shedding 270 employees at Hethel in April; the corporate can also be set to shut its costly new headquarters in Clerkenwell, London simply months after it opened. Its flagship retailer in Park Lane, in the meantime, has been transferred to the HR Owen seller group, understood to be one other cost-cutting measure.
The beleaguered carmaker has but to make a revenue since Geely bought it from Proton and DRB-Hicom again in 2017. Its transfer to electrification, specifically with extra mass-market electrical fashions just like the Eletre and the Emea sedan, has but to repay, with Feng saying that “lately, premium model BEV penetration doesn’t meet our expectation.”
Lotus’ gross sales fell 42% within the first quarter of the 12 months, the primary decline because the two “way of life” automobiles had been launched. Other than gross sales halting for the Eletre within the US, the corporate has additionally seen falling demand in Europe and China, with deliveries of the 2 fashions down 31% to simply 719 models within the first three months of 2025. Because of this, web loss climbed to US$183 million (RM770 million), whereas mounting money owed hit US$3.3 billion (RM13.9 billion).
In response, Lotus is pivoting onerous in direction of “Hyper Hybrids”, mirroring a transfer seen elsewhere in Geely’s sprawling community of manufacturers. Plug-in hybrid variations of the Eletre will go on sale from the primary quarter of subsequent 12 months onwards, beginning in China. In the meantime, the corporate is contemplating a hybrid Emira to develop the lifespan of the “ultimate mainstream combustion engine Lotus two-seater,” having postponed its electrical successor indefinitely. A V8 mannequin can also be being thought of, as was beforehand reported.
It’s secure to say that Lotus has overestimated its development significantly. It predicted final 12 months that it could be constructing 150,000 automobiles yearly by 2028, most of these being a brand new Porsche Macan-rivalling Sort 134 electrical SUV that was set to launch in 2027. Nevertheless, that automotive has additionally been postponed as a result of international EV slowdown and Lotus has struggled to repay Geely’s funding, which has totalled £2 billion (RM11.6 billion). Deliveries final 12 months reached simply 12,134.
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