Geely finalises Lotus takeover

A booming Chinese car-maker has finalised its takeover of long-troubled British sports car and racing icon, Lotus.

Geely Automobile Holdings today formally added a 51 per cent stake in Lotus to a portfolio that includes Volvo, Proton, Lynk & Co and the London Taxi Company, as well as its self-branded cars.

The remaining 49 per cent of the Hethel-based Lotus remains held by the Malaysian auto-making group, Etika.

It finalises a deal, announced in May, which also saw Geely take over 49 per cent of the ailing Malaysian car-making brand Proton, giving it a right-hand drive base and a budget brand for south-east Asian markets.

As part of the takeover, Lotus will keep its current CEO Jean-Marc Gales, while Geely Chief Financial Officer Daniel Donghui Li becomes Lotus Chairman. It will have two board members from Etika and another two (its Chief Technology Officer Feng Qing Feng and its Vice-President of International Business, Nathan Yu Ning) from Geely.

“With the transaction completion we now look forward to working with our partners to develop the Lotus brand into a globally competitive brand and a well-recognised leader in the sports car market,” Donghui Li said.

“We are extremely confident that Lotus will go above and beyond the expectations of the automotive industry and consumer base in the near future.”

Lotus has introduced just one new model this year, the Evora GT430, but its sales have risen 10 per cent so far this year.

“Following a successful business turnaround, the Lotus brand has never been in a stronger position and we are now perfectly positioned for growth,” added Gales.

“We are producing the best cars in the company’s history and are currently developing next generation of sports luxury vehicles which will continue to demonstrate the Lotus brand values of class-leading vehicle dynamics, light weighting, styling and aerodynamics by leveraging Geely Holding’s global strengths and resources.”