Lotus says it is seeing a rise to car sales, with sales for the half year to the end of September up 49% on last year to 1,114 units.
The UK-based manufacturer of sports cars said that it was the best half-year of car sales for Lotus since 2008/9.
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In addition, it said that car sales for the second quarter of the current financial year show a rise of 69% compared to 2013-14.
Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales said: “I am delighted with these first six months’ cars sales results. These results are a testament to the hard work of not just our sales teams around the world but also to our skilled workforce. I would also like to thank our dealers, suppliers and manufacturing partners for their continued support and look forward to maintaining and building this momentum for the future.”
Lotus said that its higher sales were led by the Exige model, which accounts for around 39% sales and advanced orders, closely followed by the Lotus Elise and the Lotus Evora. Japan continues to be the leading market for Lotus sports car sales, followed closely by the UK, USA, Germany and France. The highest growth in sales was recorded in Japan, followed by Germany and France.
The Proton-owned company recently announced plans to restructure operations across the business with the loss of up to 325 jobs, over a quarter of the workforce.
At the Paris Motor Show last week, Jean-Marc Gales told just-auto that the company plans to grow sales sustainably and that it will work on expanding its dealer network around the world.
Lotus sales this year are forecast at around 2,000 units, with a medium-term target to raise them to around 3,000 units a year. The company is planning a number of new model variants as well as a revamped Evora for the 2016 model year.
“We have to rightsize the business,” said Gales. “And we have to consider how to raise sales, what steps to take, while staying consistent with core Lotus DNA and brand values.
“This reshaping of the company, combined with increasing sales of cars is vital to Lotus building a strong, sustainable future for the business.”
