Lotus in the post DB era

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

John, I too prefer the handgeschakelde over an autobox

Is that the same as a handshandy?

[Günter]

John, there is much between Dutch & Deutsch ..not only the *e* & *s* in place !

..Stirling, not sure -best to ask your girlfriend/wife on all about the 'rhythm stick' between the front seats

Edited November 22, 2012 by Günter

[TBD]

Is that the same as a handshandy?

It's a manual gearbox.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

styling of the front intake and hood vent & those lights ..this all looks like just one more interpretation of what the Elise/Exige could be in future.. ?

... or what a Mansory Evora is now!

[Bibs]

Sorry, I'm not in front of a PC to check this but the story says Lotus counter-sue...

http://www.worldcarfans.com/112113051237/lotus-sues-former-ceo-dany-bahar-says-he-misused-funds

[Bentzion]

Looks like a countersuit to his suit thats all. Typical

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Money that would be better spent on getting Lotus out of the $hit, not digging it in deeper. 

[richardvg]

counter sue is used more often when a party has to pull something out the bag to threaten and /or it is cheaper to do so via the person issuing the summons ..........

[alan]

Bit more here http://europe.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121130/ANE/311309845/lotus-sues-fired-ceo-for-lavish-spending-on-homes-helicopters

 

It certainly fits in with the rumours around the time of his departure where reportedly he was told try to sue us and we will sue you.

[73JPS]

This even made the Canadian press, and not in a dedicated Automotive section either. "Brand Awareness", Yay! Though unfortunately they showed a piccy of DB and not of a Lotus... "Boo".

[73JPS]

In fact, I'm not even sure that anyone reading the article would have known that Lotus made cars.

[Exploded]

650bhp!!!!

Now the question would be Lotus new bespoke engine or Lexus IS F engine supercharged and mated with KERS?

The lotus engine was supposed to be a 4.8l unit!

Not that it matters that much, that news got me giddy, great way to start my day.

 

I think we should accept there won't be any "Lotus" 4.8 V8 any time soon. For the amount of cars that Lotus can sell, and keeping in mind the stringent EU laws for emission and the fact that Lotus has to do the warranty, Lotus will always lose money on every engine, even if they sold over 1000 units a year.

So unless another car manufacturer is interested, it's a dead end imo.

[hedgerley]

Some public news at last, albeit at a Motor Show and not an official release. I'm still not sure if DRB hanging on to Lotus is a good thing, but if they do, for better or worse, at least its a stability of some sort - 

 

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/lotus-to-make-uk-comeback-1.180782

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

"For the UK market, we plan to make a comeback next year. Hopefully, in the second half of next year, our products will be ready for that market."

 

Well.... there's nothing like talking the 'comeback' up and that's beyond lame. Uk market only, hopefully... 

 

DANY WHERE ARE YOU ?????

[gt111]

"For the UK market, we plan to make a comeback next year. Hopefully, in the second half of next year, our products will be ready for that market."

 

Well.... there's nothing like talking the 'comeback' up and that's beyond lame. Uk market only, hopefully... 

 

DANY WHERE ARE YOU ?????

Is that statement refering to the new Proton models and not Lotus?

[chandrew]

Proton certainly aren't available in much of Europe so it would seem UK / IRE or nothing as far as Europe is concerned.  Are they RHD only?

 

As for Lotus, heaven help them if they see the future focussing on the UK market for salvation. 

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Dealers are getting their demo Exige S's.... definitely maybe. 

[cnapan]

Tumbleweeds are still blowing I see!

[Lotus757]

You have to read down a bit, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel:

 

 

Restructuring set to drive DRB-Hicom growth

PETALING JAYA: DRB-Hicom Bhd’s growth outlook for the next three years is expected to be driven by the continued restructuring of the company such as the RM7.4bil armoured vehicle contract and the growth in consumer loans from Bank Muamalat.

 

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Lucius Chong said in a report that the armoured vehicle contract would start contributing to the company’s financials by the fourth quarter of financial year 2013 and would peak in financial year 2016.

 

“This is in line with our current assumptions of a 20% margin and the contract is an added kicker to our numbers, contributing to our 52% earnings per share forecast for 2014 and 34% for 2015,” Chong said.

 

He also said Bank Muamalat, in which DRB-Hicom would eventually reduce its stakes to 40% from 70% presently, had seen healthy growth in consumer loans which now accounted for 63% of its loan books.

 

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd analyst Daniel Wong said DRB-Hicom’s subsidiary Proton Holdings would be improving pre-tax profit margins to 8% by financial year 2018 from year-to-date of 1.5% with a yearly sales target of 500,000 in the domestic market and exports to Asean, Britain, Australia and China.

 

He noted that Proton aimed to leverage on its own research and development capabilities and its collaboration partners such as Honda and Lotus to do this.

 

He said it also aimed to have a full range of product offerings in all market segments with a global car.

 

“Lotus is expected to turn around by financial years 2015 to 2016, riding on expansion in sales volume from 2,400 in 2013 to 5,900 in 2016 through new market penetration, network expansions, new model variants and a rebranding exercise,” Wong stated.

 

He said the company’s plans for Proton took the company back on the right track and added that these plans sounds sensible despite a lack of details.

 

“The main challenges would be its execution and changes to the market environment,” Wong said.

 

Both CIMB and HLIB rated DRB-Hicom’s shares with “outperform” and “buy” calls, with target prices of RM3.27 and RM3.52 respectively.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

2400 in 2013? Did they even sell 240 this year ... and what is a 'rebranding' exercise? 

[cnapan]

Network expansion: Good!

New model variants: Good!

'Turn around in 2016': Believe it when I see it, but good!

6000 cars per year: Good!

But the 'rebranding exercise'? Hopefully this means something positive e.g. Lotus finally shaking off its kit-car image, and not Lotus becoming the brand for protons with wide wheels!

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

I don't understand the 'kit car' image, they've not made kits for 40-50 years, I"m surprised anyone remembers those days, but let's face it making kits didn't hurt Caterham when they sealed the deal with Renault.

 

Lotus cars these days are really well built, don't see the problem there. 

Edited December 9, 2012 by Stirling_Villeneuve

[TBD]

The need for rebranding is obvious, the current image as "pending insolvency" won't carry Lotus to 6000 cars per year.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

It's nothing new though, wasn't that what DB started to do? 

 

...and as much as I'd love to see Lotus making 6000 cars a year, I think that's a pipe dream without more dynamic ownership.

[softlips]

You have to read down a bit, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel:

I just worry the light may be a train coming the other way!