New Lotus models under a veil of secrecy

Lotus has reaffirmed its plans to enter new market segments and new global markets under its majority ownership by Chinese auto giant Geely.

As for specifics, well you’ll have to watch this space.

Lotus Asia Pacific regional director David McIntyre drummed up the British car-maker’s grand plans in a video conference call with carsales this week, without actually saying anything at all.

In a spin masterclass that would put Shane Warne to shame, McIntyre said Lotus would not talk about new models or new markets until, well, it wants to.

The British sports car maker’s first all-new models in more than 12 years – including the upcoming Evija electric hypercar (pictured), new-generation Esprit V6 and the replacement for the aged Elise -- have been well documented ahead of their launches within 12 months.

But the local Lotus chief was wary of over-promising in the same way as previous management, which revealed five all-new concept cars in a lavish presentation in 2010  but none of them ever reached production.

“We’re very firm that we don’t want to talk about new product until we finalise them and finish the design,” said McIntyre.

“We know the previous management in some ways have been guilty of that and we don’t want to make those mistakes again. We only want to talk about the products when they’re finished and ready, like we did with the Evija.”

The insane 1470kW Lotus Evija EV supercar spearheads the product revival for the Hethel-based manufacturer, with the first builds set to take place earlier this year.

We understand there are three expressions of interest for the Evija from Australia, but McIntyre declined to comment, saying there were no firm orders.

Along with the rest of the sports car range, Evija production was put on ice for several weeks recently when Lotus – along with most other European marques – was forced to shutter its manufacturing operations due to COVID-19.

However, McIntyre indicated the Hethel plant would re-fire on Monday (May 11) subject to new hygiene protocols.

“What I can tell you is our next sports car is coming from Hethel,” McIntyre said when asked whether Lotus was contemplating Chinese production.

“Under our stewardship of Geely, we do have opportunities in the future to go into new segments, to look at different production locations but we currently don’t have any firm plans and we won’t communicate them until we do.

“Japan is a very important market for us. We have almost 40 dealers across the region and half of those are in Japan. China is a market that is relatively new to us. We only sell the Evora there, so there’s huge potential.

“There aren’t that many more places you’d put a dealer in Australia, so I think it’s more about developing the markets we’re in to get ready for future growth.”

McIntyre said Lotus had developed “ambitious plans” with its backing from Geely. Apart from the Evija, Esprit and Elise replacement, new additions are expected to include a family of SUVs.

“I think Geely brings stability. Geely is a very financially strong shareholder and they are investing heavily in future products which is key for a brand like Lotus,” McIntyre said.

“We produce relatively small volume – 1500 to 1600 a year depending on the product range – so then to be able to fund future investments out of relatively small volume is difficult. But with the power and financial power of Geely, we are able to do that.

“The plans that we have for brand are ambitious. We want to grow and we need to grow. Now we have the investment to do that.”