Report: Lotus’ new owner says ‘we won’t sell the brand’

Lotus Evora GTE

According to Lotus’ new owner, DRB-HICOM, even though the automotive label needs a lot of work and long-term planning, there are no plans to sell the brand.

Managing director Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Khamil Bin Jamil says that it will “take time” to develop an understanding the business and formulate a plan to sort out the matters with Lotus.

So far, after a 60 day monetary relief, production has resumed, and development is continuing on the Exige, Elise and Evora, all of which should be making an appearance at the end of next month at Goodwood.

The Espirit that is due out next year is still in the works as well, but what is still unclear is what will happen with the rest of the new models and if they will be resuming production anytime soon.

Initially, the sale to DRB-HICOM caused a stir in Malaysia because Lotus was always looked at as a key asset for the Malaysian government. Since Jamil’s statement, it seems things have calmed, however, even though he says he is not looking to sell, until a plan is in place for the long-term, Lotus’ future remains a big question mark.

– By: Alexandra Koken

Source: Autocar