Lotus Looking to Partner With a Major Automaker Says Company CEO
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has made numerous changes to the storied British brand since he joined the company in 2009 and he’s not done yet. In a recent interview he made known his desire to see Lotus split off from its current Malaysian owner Proton, in search of a major global automaker – like Toyota.
According to Bahar, Lotus will need a partner in order to offset the cost of meeting strict new emissions ratings and crash tests. If a partner can’t be found, Lotus could look at spinning off into a private company with publicly traded stock.
Rumors of a tie-up with Toyota are only too easy to generate with both automakers sharing a long-term partnership, with Toyota supplying engines in cars like the Elise since 1994.
Bahar’s plan is to build up Lotus as a serious rival to Porsche, with total sales reaching anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 units annually by around 2015. In order to achieve this significant growth Lotus has already unveiled its New Era plan to develop several new models including a new Elise, an Esprit and even a possible city car, among others.
According to a report by Inside Line, the company is developing a new aluminum tub to be shared across these models, which weights 220-lbs less than the 520 lb one used in the Evora.
[Source: InsideLine]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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