Future of Lotus

[NedaSay]

A piece from C & D https://www.caranddriver.com/columns/saving-lotus-will-take-years-but-at-least-someone-has-taken-the-first-step-column

[NedaSay]

new piece from Top gear 

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/insider/lotus-we-will-always-be-benchmark-light-weight

JMG is bullish to say the least.

His goal of producing more cars in the next 2 years has vanished thought but then again if they can generate 100M in turn over from just 1500 cars, there's probably hard logic to this.  

[NedaSay]

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-la-motor-show/lotus-owner-geely-plans-suv-and-cars-rival-ferrari

I really hope they plan on competing with the Porsche more than just Ferrari,  keeping one or two entry level sports cars price below 35-40k  would be inline with the past of the company. Competing with Ferrari also means a successor to the Esprit is on its way. It is time to "unshelve" some ideas.

 

[Bibs]

Spotted this on LinkedIn...

[NedaSay]

 Uh these parallel circles put Lotus up to Porsche's face, Volvo in Audi's,  Link in VW's and Proton with Skoda, but  LEVC facing up Bugatti lol.

I'm guessing Terrafugia shall face up Bentley in a wing for wing fight to the death.

I cannot wait to see what Lotus and Geely have in the portfolio of concepts. 

 

[Bibs]

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20180112/ANE/180109972/lotus-ceo-sees-suv-coming-with-help-from-new-stakeholder-geely

Quote

It has been a momentous year for Lotus. Volvo Cars-owner Zhejiang Geely Holding bought a majority stake in the British sports car maker, ending the uncertainty over its future under former Malaysian owner, DRB-Hicom. CEO Jean-Marc Gales, who has spent the last three years fighting to stabilize Lotus' weak finances, said of the company's new Chinese owners: "It is the best thing that could have happened to us." He explained why he's confident that Lotus is ready to enter the premium SUV sector in an interview with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Nick Gibbs.

Where does Geely want to take Lotus?

Lotus is a benchmark for handling, aerodynamics and lightweight. I'm fairly sure with the Geely parts bin at our disposal, we can design a Lotus crossover that has unique lightweight features, aerodynamics and handling that befits the Lotus brand.

What's driving your plan to expand beyond sports cars?

We are not just tied to sports cars, which is a fairly stable market worldwide. What is growing at double-digits, however, is the SUV market, especially the premium SUV market.

Would the SUV platform use bonded aluminum like your sports cars?

Why should it? Bonded aluminum for sports cars is a great thing, and for the coming years we will certainly stick with that technology because we are masters at it. On other segments we can have steel, aluminum, composites or even carbon fiber. The future's wide open.

 

Will Geely use your engineering arm?

Lotus Engineering has lots to give to our shareholders as well. It's one of the reasons Geely bought us.

Lotus made a pre-tax profit in the second half of its last financial year. When will the company achieve full-year profitability?

Next year is clearly the plan. The target is to be cash-flow positive for this financial year. Lotus hasn’t been cash-flow positive for a couple of decades. One of the reasons Geely bought us is because Lotus has also managed to survive in a really tough automotive industry.

How have you improved cash flow when sales have been flat?

Last year's sales were 1,500 and this year they will stay about the same. However, revenues are up 15 percent because we're selling much higher-spec cars. In each of our product lines, the car with the highest horsepower is the best-seller. In addition, we are still reducing costs. In our next financial year [which starts April 1, 2018], we will enter the Chinese market with the Evora 400.

Could the Esprit supercar come back?

I can't divulge any future plans, but in the next six months we will announce some future projects. I am convinced the Esprit is an extremely good brand name.

Has Geely given you a sum to spend on developing new cars?

No sums are disclosed. We're working on an exciting five-year plan with our new shareholders. What you won't see us doing is launching five new cars at a motor show.

 

 

Meet the boss

NAME: Jean-Marc Gales
TITLE: Lotus Cars CEO
AGE: 55
MAIN CHALLENGE: Expand into SUVs while keeping the Lotus DNA intact.

 

 

 

Where will the new cars be made?

Our sports cars will stay in the UK, that's clear. Lotus is quintessentially a UK brand so we need that. If, in the future, we have one or two plants for the potential crossover, they should be close to where the destination market is. For SUVs, the biggest market in the world is China. That’s where Geely has plants. But, I don't exclude anything at the moment.

Besides SUVs, are there any other segments Lotus could enter?

We're currently doing an analysis and there might be more segments where the Lotus DNA could be used. But for crossovers I'm not just thinking of one size, but a couple of sizes.

Do the SUVs have to be compact?

Lightweight doesn't mean small. It means efficient. It means intelligent engineering. It means using the right materials, with a low center of gravity for the right handling. We have ideas on how to achieve that.

Would it be hybrid? Electric?

There are trends leading toward electrification and all future Lotus cars will show some form of electrification. Maybe the sports cars will stick with combustion engines. If it isn't lightweight, however, we're not going to do it.

How has the pound's declining value affected Lotus?

On balance, it's slightly positive. Currently 70 percent of our parts are sourced locally, one of the highest in the UK, and we export 80 percent.

What are your fears when the UK leaves the EU in 2019?

If you get into a full WTO [World Trade Organization tariff] situation, everything gets more expensive. There's no way out of that. I am willing to increase UK-sourced components above the 70 percent, but at the moment there's a lot of talk of support [from the UK government] but not a lot of commitment.

 

[Frickin_idiot]

Positive news and I am glad that there are plans to explore news segments.

[Likuid]

Sounds to me a new Esprit will happen someday.

[swindon_alan]

That is the day I will have to buy a packet of Tena Men

[Jeanvm]

"Could the Esprit supercar come back?

I can't divulge any future plans, but in the next six months we will announce some future projects. I am convinced the Esprit is an extremely good brand name."

I said it before that they will begin testing the Esprit this year.

[NedaSay]

Damn it, I'm late to the party and I reposted uselessly in the SUV thread! Sorry.

One or two SUV's, a halo car,  and another body type -I'm thinking a luxobarge successor to the Carlton. I'd really like to know how big is the check Lotus will get cause it should be a very healthy number.

It also sound like Lotus is going to make the best of both CMA and SPA, which is not a thing they haven't done before so it should be ok, provided the cars are not clones of Volvos inside and out. 

[TBD]

I've been wondering, with Geely now building a "real" corporation around their brands Volvo, Polestar and now Lotus, how likely is is that we will see Lotus enter Formula E in the near future?

Formula E seems to be the trend for all the carmakers today and the entry barriers are certainly lower than Formula 1. Lotus would bring the great heritage and Geely obviously needs to build brand prestige.

[Bibs]

It doesn't appear that Geely have much of a taste for motorsport sadly. Nothing to say that won't change, but it's not their focus at present. 

[Frickin_idiot]

This is a positive for me, get Lotus on the right track and growing then worry about moving back into motorsport. The company need to maintain focus.

[The Pits]

No need for a return to the F1 circus but Lotus should always be racing.

Competition improves the breed. Brings credibility. Fortunately someone, somewhere is racing a Lotus almost every day but a factory race effort and Motorsport department are always something I'd like to see.

[Bravo73]

To trot out an old cliche: “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday”. 

It has always held true and still does. As the most extreme example (and I can’t remember the specific numbers off the top of my head, I’m afraid) but Mercedes spend several hundred million €/$/£s on their F1 programme each year. However, the media exposure that they receive is worth over a billion €/$/£s to the company. Therefore, the expenditure/investment is more than worthwhile. 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Not sure their bean-counters would see it that way! When times are hard for car manufacturers, Motorsport activities are always an easy first cost-cutting target. Also the problem at the very pinnacle of Motorsport is just that: only one team can really win. At the moment it's Mercedes, but if they start taking a regular beating from others and the Board get worried, they will also throw their toys out of the pram, walk away and claim that they have nothing more to prove. They all do it.

Mercedes has already announced it will pull out of DTM from next year, for the first time since anyone can remember. I am sure it is only due to their stated Formula E involvement and just a coincidence that their DTM teams were getting consistently beaten by Audi in 2017....

[Crouchy]

Plus who really buys a car due to motorsport performances?

The only motorsport I really watch is F1, I love mercedes and everything they are achieving in the sport but do I want to buy a merc? No, not even a little bit. On the other hand Mclaren are performing horrifically in F1 but do I currently want to buy a Mclaren road car? Yes, Yes I do. And lamborghini dont even take part in any motorsport I watch and id buy one of those too if I could afford one.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Crouchy

[TBD]

I'll agree with everyone that F1 would be ridiculous for Lotus /Geely. But Formula E seems to be the future, its inovative, competitive and much cheaper.

Also the big playeers are just preparing to enter (including Mercedes), so you'll be seeing a lot more of Formula E on TV.

They already seem to know how to crash in best Lotus tradition:

 

[Bravo73]

1 hour ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Not sure their bean-counters would see it that way! 

It was the strategy that the Mercedes board used to justify their F1 spend to their bean-counters. The exposure all ads up - Mercedes has just had several ‘below the line’ references in this thread alone. Other advertisers would also happily pay for that exposure. 

Here’s the original article: https://www.grandprix247.com/2016/01/13/wolff-says-exposure-from-f1-worth-3-billion-to-mercedes/

(That sort of spend vs the exposure = ‘a no brainer’). 

[The Pits]

I don’t want to buy a Merc either but I respect them more since they started dominating F1 compared to how I felt about them as plucky challengers. McLaren and Williams have enough respect in the bank to survive a few years mid-pack. Simply being involved at the elite level of motorsport is considered an achievement much like finishing Le Mans.

Given the choice between an Audi, BMW or Merc estate I’d say I’m more likely to consider the Merc now than before they started  winning in F1. Its about positioning, not making people buy cars they didn’t want.

I think GT racing and ideally Le Mans would be great and relevant for Lotus to compete in.

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Isn't Formula E just a generic chassis and battery common to all teams? As I see it, the only real vehicle manufacturer input seems to be in the power-train, which really isn't very interesting to most punters. If they actually made their own cars, it might be different, but then the costs would go up....

[NedaSay]

55 minutes ago, TBD said:

I'll agree with everyone that F1 would be ridiculous for Lotus /Geely. But Formula E seems to be the future, its inovative, competitive and much cheaper.

Also the big playeers are just preparing to enter (including Mercedes), so you'll be seeing a lot more of Formula E on TV.

They already seem to know how to crash in best Lotus tradition:

 

It has been rumoured for a while that Polestar is doing the legwork to get an entry in Formula E.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=polestar+could+join+formula+e&oq=polestar+could+join+formula+e&aqs=chrome..69i57.10008j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

But as of now nothing has materialized. Formula E commercial agreements state that there cannot be more than 12 teams involved in the sport. Right now there are 10 competitors and from season 5 onward there will be 2 more Mercedes and Porsche, so they have reached their numerus clausus. Therefore getting said entry will require a tie up with one existing team which doesn't have manufacturer status or deal and there are not many of these left : Virgin, Dragon, Techeetah... 

Formula E does favour manufacturers entering the sport but they also want to protect teams so a team can request any manufacturer of their choosing to supply them a power unit and the manufacturer has to comply with this request. So Virgin is reportedly in final talks with Audi while it has been reported that Techeetah will get the DS power unit next year. Until recently Dragon was in talks with Porsche but it seems that the deal is off and as of now Dragon is the only team with no manufacturer backing for next year.

 

Personally I don't think it is right to say that Geely does not have a taste for motorsport. They gave the green light to the Cyan/Polestar Volvo S60 WTCC program which ended on a world championship for the Swedish company ; Geely has also been propping Formula 4 in China since its inception. So I do think they are trying to see how motorsport can satisfy their purpose, to that effect they have even let the Proton WRC2 program move forward when they could have canned the thing.

Geely has been very hands off and very supporting of their subsidiaries up until this point, at they beginning they just had Volvo to care for now they have a few more brands that need catering. Maybe the purchase of Lotus has led to some reconsidering when it comes to who will do what in motorsport in the Geely group. With Lotus and Polestar they have  to performance oriented brands that definitely need to establish or reestablish themselves, so their positioning is important.

Again personally I don't think lotus should join the FE ranks at this point, they would be much better rebuilding the motorsport department and selling GTs. Lotus has its own series and I think the Lotus Cup Series could use some TLC.  I also think Lotus motorsport arm should have a  "works" project and GTE would be ideal for that. the Evora GTE was at the very beginning of its development when they pulled the plug on it.

By nurturing the grassroot racing and providing a ladder system into GT/endurance racing I think Lotus has plenty to work with. It is not hard to imagine a reshaped Lotus Cup Series with Elise Cup as the entry point and the Exige Cup as the top flight series. With the right incentive but keeping the current spirit of the series alive,  the winner of the Elise Cup championship could get a season in Exige Cup while the winner of the Exige Cup championship could get an Evora GT program.  All the while keeping the mass start and allowing 3Elevens and Evoras to also race.

I also believe that Lotus should race its "products" and not its "brand".  We've had enough useless brand racing in the past few years in F1 and it has done very little for Lotus. same thing can be said about the LMP programs, they did nothing but confuse people.

I think Lotus needs a works team to race one GT - made in Hethel  - in FIA WEC. They don't need to win at all cost now, they have to show their spirit and metal against the best in the business! Arguably the bests in the business can all be found in the FIA WEC GTE ranks. And Geely said that Lotus was to go head to head with the bests so it is only logical.

Hopefully we'll know more about the plan within the next six month and with a little 

 

[The Pits]

On the money! 

[Andyww]

6 hours ago, NedaSay said:

 

I also believe that Lotus should race its "products" and not its "brand".  We've had enough useless brand racing in the past few years in F1 and it has done very little for Lotus.

 

Its true that it didnt work for Lotus but that was because the team was not successful, not because of racing a brand.

Racing the brand works very well for Mercedes. They bought the Brawn team and Ilmor Engines and renamed them, to great effect.