Report: Lotus in ‘lockdown,’ Esprit delayed by 6 months

The CEO of Lotus, Dany Bahar, can’t seem to catch a break. New reports state that the company has been forced to suspend development on future models following the purchase of parent company by Proton by DRB-Hicom.

Speaking at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Bahar said that Lotus remains in a ‘lockdown,’ which is required by the Malaysian government until the sale of the company is finalized. As a result, Lotus has delayed the launch of new models including the Exige S and the Evora GTE and may push back the launch of the Esprit by 6 months to early 2014.

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Whether or not Lotus will eventually be sold off to a new owner, Bahar told Evo Magazine: “This difficult period for Lotus finishes at the end of March and that’s when we will know whether DRB-Hicom will want to continue with our business plan. I really hope they will but I cannot call it at the moment; it’s still 50:50.”

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Inside Line