Lotus in the post DB era

[Iconic Ride]

See how I have cleverly taken the heat off my L.A. bretheren, you progeny of hamsters and elderberry scent?

[TBD]

Somehow I think we have reached the only sustainable level to survive the DRB era.

[Guest surferphil]

See how I have cleverly taken the heat off my L.A. bretheren, you progeny of hamsters and elderberry scent?

Lazy Assed?

Whilst we British yobs continue to bicker amongst ourselves the sound of reason is heard from Germany with the most intelligent observation of the thread.

Edited October 14, 2012 by surferphil

[Iconic Ride]

Ogg agree. Atavistic regression best way to survive DRB epoch.

[Bibs]

EDP as accurate as ever with a pic of he 'new' CEO at the head of the article!

http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/norfolk_car_maker_hoping_future_will_be_clear_by_the_end_of_the_year_1_1655585

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Either that or Dany's back!

[ramjet]

I think I've just witnessed a negative reality inverrrrsion.

[arbell9]

Is this like the dallas shower scene where its all a dream?

[DarrylV8]

No dream Alex

Bring back DB it maybe less expensive than fighting him in court.

Sudders are you and DB calling in at Lotus HQ later today on your way back from short holiday to renew his T&C??

Bibs will you need to order a new Esprit before the production run starts?

Is CEO above or below a COO in the pecking order!

I was joking

Not sure I was??

Edited October 15, 2012 by DarrylV8

[Suddabym]

Flippin' eck!

I step into my new Muscat cave hideaway for a few days and TLF declares unilateral fisticuffs! Don't worry, I understand; news of Lotus' latest tribulations can be a bit unsettling, but it's better to play nice (especially as all the foreigners can see what we're doing). Remember the Empire, Britannia, HMQ, tea and The X Factor etc. That should help col those un-British emotions from spilling over.

Darryl - Dany did a bunk a while ago. Mainly, after the scrotum balm ran out but also to return to the comfort of old mother Switzerland to reimagine his relaunch back into the premium world of luxury lifestyles. I then had to bug out in a bit of a hurry when the sprouts went bad and started giving off lethal levels of methane. Then the chemical toilet went critical and I had to have the bunker sealed off. Spent the last 3 months in a decontamination vat of fuller's earth and urine.

But don't worry, my new place in Muscat is awesome and completely going completely wrong proof. Probably.

Dany does keep in touch, so if you have a message... He's actually sent me out here to check out the solar panel market. He reckons that when he wins his court case he's gonna buy Lotus and use the brand to sell these panels (big market in LA, appentently). As lifestyle solar panels, obviously. I told him that taking a premium British sports car brand and using to sell something that can't power a toothbrush is rubbish, but he says it's all the rage.

Right, gotta go, prayer time.

Awesome!

Sudders

[Bibs]

[Exploded]

Source

Proton will drag down DRB-Hicom if sustainable Proton turn around is not in place

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd will drag down its parent DRB-Hicom Bhd if a sustainable plan to turn it around is not in place, according to DRB-Hicom chief operating officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh.

“We all know that Proton is a big problem... If we do not solve the problem, not only will Proton go down but the whole DRB group,” he said at the MICPA-Bursa Malaysia Business Forum 2012 here yesterday.

He said the problems had to be resolved as they would affect not only the national carmaker but also cause a ripple effect in the automobile ecosystem including the dealers, distributors and service centres.

He said the whole ecosystem consisted of more than 100,000 people compared with Proton's 11,000 employees.

“Not only do we have to take care of these 100,000 people, we must come out with a business that is viable,” he added.

He said a car had many features today compared with its preceding models which implied that margin compression was one of the challenges to be tackled.

“It is going to be a volume game, but Malaysia does not have that kind of numbers.

“We are going to work on something (for Proton) which will be announced by next month,” he said, adding that it needed to produce models that have market demand and competitive prices.

The domestic sales target for Proton was raised to 200,000 units for the current financial year ending March 31, 2013 (FY13) from 167,000 previously.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research in a note said the management was tight-lipped on its strategy to achieve 200,000 units in Proton sales in FY13.

“From April to August 2012, Proton sales were only 61,400 units, implying another 138,400 units for the remaining financial year to hit its target,” it said.

Che Khalib declined to comment on plans for the ailing luxury marque Lotus and Proton's potential foreign partner. At the conglomerate's AGM in September, managing director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil revealed that it had plans to introduce a foreign partner to Proton.

HLIB Research said DRB-Hicom was still finalising the turnaround plan for Lotus which was expected to be presented to bankers by year-end.

On Pos Malaysia, Che Khalib said he did not consider Pos Malaysia a “problem child” but noted that it needed some transformation.

“We are excited to have Pos Malaysia within the DRB group. The next phase of Pos Malaysia is going to be more interesting with the number of outlets it has.”

In a separate report, RHB Research said market re-rating could come from positive traction from ongoing efforts to revamp Proton, including its domestic sales and spare parts dealership network and procurement function, and the long-term transformation of Pos Malaysia.

I believe Tony Fernandes is twittering about this article...

Edited October 17, 2012 by Exploded

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Er, a small point BUT....

If Proton is in such a bad state that it could potentially bring down DRB why did they buy it?

Seems to me if this is the case then Lotus are nothing more than a minor annoyance for DRB to be swatted at the first available moment.

[Exploded]

Indeed, the substantial losses from Proton are made by Lotus of course.

Keep in mind that in this story, Lotus is seen as a part of Proton and not as a part of DRB.

[TBD]

Reads like somebody is prepping the world for a sale. Maybe that is what's behind "which will be announced by next month."

[richardvg]

"We all know that proton is a problem " is an understatement ...................in the global context of choice they are half asleep >

Be honest ,who here has ever owned a Proton or would in the forseeable future be driving one ....

1.

2.

?????

Reads like somebody is prepping the world for a sale. Maybe that is what's behind "which will be announced by next month."

Never sell a business on the down unless you picked it up (in the bigger scheme of things) as a token !!

[Guest surferphil]

1. Me! Me Meeeee! At last I am finally Number 1!!!!!! :bounce: :animier: :animier: :bounce:

[ramjet]

Daughter has a Proton. Hasn't given her an ounce of trouble.

[Guest surferphil]

I have owned 2 and I think Bibs was considering one...

[Beaujolais Dom]

The more I read, the more I get the impression that DRB just don't understand what it is they have bought in acquiring Lotus. Which, in these uncertain times, and at a time when Lotus was attempting to relaunch itself, scares the bejesus out of me.

I have to say I didn't think Swizz Beatz, Brian May and Naomi Campbell were the most astute choice of "celebrities" Lotus could have chosen to try and raise their profile, but given what has happened (or rather, singularly failed to happen) recently, suddenly a lot of Dany Bahar's ideas actually don't look quite so off the wall....

I am sure that the public perception of Lotus has risen off the back of this year's F1 campaign, and as GTracing gains traction ansd a wider audience, there is the appeal of being able to buy a road car that looks like the race car. Lotus' amazing history it just that - history. It needs new success on the racetrack to bring it to a new audience and break out of the "enthusiast" niche.

The Regent Street store, the "brand" as a "lifestyle" - just look at how much money Ferrari make from merchandising...people buy a keyring and feel they are buying into those intangibles of brand, lifestyle and heritage. It's a necessary step to complement the motorsport campaign.

Celebrity endorsements and product placement - simple fact is, it works...if you get it right. Sharon Stone unveiling the new Esprit in the States and working that Basic Instinct vibe - right. Swizz Beatz et al....hmmmm. After the abhorrence of the BMW years (not that it did BM's sales any harm!), Bond is back in Astons...he used to drive an Esprit. Richard Gere picked up (solicited?!) Julia Roberts in a Lotus - let's get that kind of profile going again.

At the risk of being branded a heretic, I even kind of got the Mansory tie up - yes, they're not known for their taste but I thought their takle on the Evora was actually quite good (and restrained for Mansory!)

I hope DRB have the nerve to follow through on the investment made by Proton over the last few years and do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the new models had world beating potential, and some of Dany Bahar's marketing/PR/profile ideas were based on sound modern business principles and should be followed through.

.

[DanR]

OMG. That article says the banks have frozen the remaining GBP47m of the GBP270m lent to Lotus. Does that mean DB spent GBP223m in his few years there! If so, where?

[MartinL]

IMHO the ideas of DB caught the imagination of the media............5 new models WAS news, and had people buzzing about Lotus

Now........silence

Now ........no media attention, no free ads. on international TV at newstime

I hope I am very wrong, but I would not be surprised to hear a 10 second news line stating Lotus is to end car production, having read all the above ( and believing it to be fact) it appears that the lottery fairy would be hard pressed to come up with the money to provide long term security for the factory.

It may be that only the likes of VW can save the name long term ??

[Iconic Ride]

Wood flooring for the game room?

Just curious. Does the UK Government ever step in to save automobile companies from bankruptcy (heaven forbid) proceedings in the same manner as the U.S. has historically done (more than once, and for more than one marque)in order to preserve jobs?

[Guest surferphil]

There is no UK government.

They sort of 'invest' millions and then bankrupt them to make sure we (tax payers) don't get any of that dirty money back in our clean pockets.

They also tend to sell a multi billion pound company for a £5 to a rich lord who fuks it up.

DeLorean Rover and Lotus spring to mind. Did I write Lotus?

Edits to try and make sense of the pile of words that appeared when I was typing. Sorry.

Edited October 17, 2012 by surferphil

[Iconic Ride]

No need to apologize, Phil. This whole debacle is causing great consternation to most all of us. This is happening, afterall, to a marque we revere as if it were a form of religion. The possibility that it might not survive the current troubles is disheartening in the extreme. Lotus has too much to give to the world (certainly the motoring world) to just fade away. I just can't wrap my head around that scenario. What an incredible waste of talent, engineering expertise, and history that would be. I retain hope that some form of rescue will occur, be it a wealthy individual or a sufficiently deep pocketed corporation with exisiting automotive ties. DRB-Hicom appears not to have the necessary "fire in the belly" that is required to resuscitate what has been an historically niche marque. With regard to Proton, they seem rather more focused on large volume and mass production of inexpensive cars, with thin profit margins. They're simply not the "gear heads" we need to enthusiastically bring the company back to life.