Future of Lotus

[auRouge]

This is super positive!!

[NedaSay]

If Geely can do for Lotus what they've been doing for Volvo since their take over it could be massive for Lotus... But it will require building a lot of bridges and not braking any in the short terms. Keeping Toyota powertrain as Geely doesn't have suitable V6 as of now, would be one thing. Resolving the marque issue Asia would be another one, if Lotus could just be Lotus one and all in China, it would be quite big. Then giving Lotus management the tools and time to develop the cars they need to bring to market, Elise first and hopefully not delayed, the rest would follow.

[plumdeplakmuis]

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/02/18/proton-for-psa-lotus-for-geely/

[ramjet]

Merged.

[silverfrost]

Fingers crossed,  a potential buyer that just wants the lotus bit is good news hopefully 

[blindside]

Looks as if Geely have pulled out of the of the bid: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-03/geely-chairman-says-he-plans-to-drop-bid-for-lotus-cars-owner

[Mark Blanchard]

Oh bollox

Come on Toyota, buy Lotus.  Please.

 

[Andrew C]

Yes Toyota do the right thing please 

[The Pits]

Amazing when you see what McLaren have achieved in a short time that some of these cash rich companies haven't seen the potential at Lotus. No doubt all the management consultants are saying that the future is hybrid autonomous SUVs. I bet you Lotus could be bought for a relative snip. I reckon without the Bahar debacle they would already have found a buyer. JMG is still trying to repair the damage.

[NW76]

There will always be people with "gasoline in their blood" (not "electricity"!!!) that will love Lotus for what it is to them ... buy Lotus now, keep it alive, make it better, true to its roots ... it will only increase in value as brands and cars for those people become fewer and fewer ...

[Mark Blanchard]

Or maybe DRB Hicom want to keep Lotus?  Proton was the major one draining their finances.

[NedaSay]

DRB Hicom is between the hammer and the hard place... They want two things that are not compatible .... Sell around 50% of the company shares and retain decision power, it seems pretty presumptuous. Geely are not exactly amateur at this, Volvo and LTX Co are proof that they are not to be taken lightly.  if DRB continues like this both suitors may bail. PSA is set to announce the purchase of Opel Tomorrow they will have their hands full with that. Geely is gearing up to bring Lynk & Co new brand to market. Both groups can do without Proton plants... there's way too much posturing. Political figures should be informed because of "jobs" but should just shut up for now untill a deal is done. Proton is not a significant player in the big picture not even in ASEAN.

And yes I'd like Akio Toyoda to make a move and snap Lotus out of this quagmire. JMG and his staff need to know where they stand even if the company is turning a profit it wiil not be enough to develop the elige platform, they need further investment. 

Edited March 6, 2017 by NedaSay

[The Pits]

Not sure what's keeping Toyota away, seems such a good fit. I suppose if you buy a customer, they're no longer a customer on one level but couldn't Lotus become what Lamborghini has become for Audi? That even seems to work with models as close as the R8 and Huracan. I wouldn't see a mid-engined new Esprit type of car to be competing with anything Lexus offer currently and it could take on and beat Honda's NSX at a stroke. Toyota also have serious motorsport interests so Lotus chassis'd cars could prove Toyota engines in GT racing and elsewhere. A Lotus GT86 seems like a no-brainer for both companies. Lightweight engineering would be a great next step for their hybrids and yes I believe Lotus, perhaps more than anyone, could make a hybrid much nicer to drive. Seems like such a good fit.

Such a shame it looks like an act of charity from Toyota rather than an exciting opportunity for both brands. Even if Lotus went under it's not like it's any great risk for Toyota. As far as I know they have no interest in Lotus whatsoever. 

[Andyww]

I dont understand why Geely have pulled out. Seems perfect for them. Not only a British brand, which is a big plus in China but the IP and technical know-how would be a huge benefit to them. Dont get it. Maybe they simply dont have the cash.

[silverfrost]

Regarding Toyota i think maybe they are holding back at the moment, due to future market condtions regarding the potential future American market that could be subject to change under President Trump,   And as said they have a fairly healthy income of Lotus for the engines and also save a slight amont of money on R and D when lotus at there own expense fettle the Toyota power plants.  

Ford lost a massive amount through Jaguar landrover as they supplied the crate engine for years until JLR started designing and building its own engines, yes massive amount of difference from JLR crate engines sales from ford compaired to Lotus with the Toyota power plants but an income stream to loose non the less.

Not sure on the Geely decision to withdraw the bid, very sad to hear,  hopefully it is because they got wind of another large player who will be looking to take up the reigns of Lotus, we can but hope 

[NedaSay]

7 hours ago, Andyww said:

I dont understand why Geely have pulled out. Seems perfect for them. Not only a British brand, which is a big plus in China but the IP and technical know-how would be a huge benefit to them. Dont get it. Maybe they simply dont have the cash.

Geely haven't pulled out yet but their CEO said he would pull the plug on the deal if DRB Hicom keeps changing the terms.

Geely has plenty of tech and knowhow they have Volvo and as a result Polestar and access to the best Swedish tech companies around and they are not to shabby...  If the Chinese gov is complaining about Chinese carmaker not having enough tech they are not talking about Geely.  

Peugeot just sealed the deal on Opel which means that they now have a factory in Thailand that his producing Opel/Vauxhall Adam and other small cars. I wonder what DRB Hicom will say now their position just got a whole lot weaker, Thailand as a much better supplier environment than Malaysia does.

One possible outcome of the strategic partner thing is that both suitors bail and the Malaysian gov decides to do the logical thing, merge Proton to the other Malaysian car company Perodua... (Toyota's partner via Daihatsu in the Asean)

[hedgerley]

.Interesting take on the situation by The Sunday Times. The 'posturing' at DRB does seems to have pissed off Geely but there is a good chance they will come back to the table. With PSA about to digest GM Europe, they will hope for an easy time of it should their bid for Proton be successful, so my guess is they will offload Lotus to Geely, once the dust settles. Geely don't really want Proton, PSA probably don't really want the hassle of dealing with Lotus. Everyone wins....

....Except perhaps Lotus Engineering. Forgive the pun, but I doubt the Chinese Walls between anonymous manufacturer programmes in Hethel would survive a Chinese owner.....

 

[Andyww]

On the PSA takeover of Vauxhall/Opel, everyone seems to be cautiously optimistic on jobs being saved but I hope this is justified. French companies dont have a great track record of taking over and maintaining British-based ones. For example when Thales took over Racal Defence they simply closed the whole lot down.

[Frickin_idiot]

If I were working for Vauxhall I'd be worried, in my opinion it is only a matter of time until the closure.

PSA have indicated they need to make > 1.5 Billion in savings, this coupled with being partially owned by the French government will mean that management will be under tremendous pressure to retain jobs in France.

I can see this only going one way.

[Barrykearley]

If that's the case - my next van won't be a vivaro. An awful lot of tradesmen are pro Brexit - there will be a fair few voting with their feet come vehicle purchase time.

Built in this country guarantees tariff free access. It's going to be a very interesting time

[NedaSay]

Vauxhall should retain at least one of the two factories because Brexit but neither factories  will close this year or next. I expect redundancies to be announced within the year and Astra, Insignia to phase out their current platform within the next 4 years.  

[Bibs]

@Stubox, any thoughts or too soon? 

[hedgerley]

This looks interesting. Another Tesla Roadster type deal providing a much needed cash injection for Lotus, even if it's only a licencing agreement. 

It's a bit of a leap, but would Detroit Electric have secured such a huge investment without guarantees on platform supply? Does this mean some behind-the-scenes agreement with Lotus and their current and/or prospective owner, which is surely a positive sign? Or am I delusional...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/detroit-electric-sp01-sports-car-launch-following-£15-billion-deal

[silverfrost]

We can only hope for the best  Mark 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Call me stupid, but I didn't know EVs could have manual gearboxes: maybe the future of motoring won't be quite so dull after all. Anyone tried one?

"Standard specification includes carbon fibre body panels and a manual transmission, tough single-speed and twin-speed automatic transmissions are optional"