Lotus

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COMMENT - Lotus and a new beginning. Again?

28 June 2017

The deal is done. DRB-Hicom Berhad has signed an agreement for China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH) to take a 49.9% equity stake in Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton). DRB also sold its stake in Lotus to ZGH (with a minority held by Etika Automotive). Ian Adcock considers the future for Lotus.

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ANALYSIS: BMW sales collapse in largest EU market

9 July 2015

The 12 percent YoY rise in the June German passenger cars market has seen some notable changes to the usual pecking order. Opel muscled past both Ford and BMW to take fourth position behind Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and third-placed Audi.

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Review of 2012 (part 1)

19 December 2012

Like any year in the auto industry, 2012 saw its fair share of company ups and downs, industrial comings and goings, and a fair old sprinkling of corporate drama. It was also a year of economic uncertainty hovering over automotive markets. We covered it all on just-auto. Editor Dave Leggett sifts through the lot and picks out a few highlights from the year just gone, month by month. Part one covers the first half of the year, part two the second. This is part one.

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PRODUCT EYE: Lotus Evora 414E hybrid

10 October 2012

As carmakers go, Lotus is something of an unusual company. As an OEM it's a small volume player, making sports cars that are still – as typified by the Elise, for example – the spiritual descendants of the stripped down 'light of weight' approach to design and engineering favoured by Lotus founder Colin Chapman.

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Q&A with David Lindley, SAIC's UK tech MD (2)

19 June 2014

SAIC Motor technical Centre UK SMTC UK works on designing, developing and engineering advanced new vehicle and powertrain products for SAIC, one of the world's largest automotive manufacturers and owner of the MG brand. Dave Leggett interviewed SMTC UK's managing director David Lindley (part two of two).

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Q&A with David Lindley, SAIC's UK tech centre MD

16 June 2014

SAIC Motor technical Centre UK SMTC UK works on designing, developing and engineering advanced new vehicle and powertrain products for SAIC, one of the world's largest automotive manufacturers and owner of the MG brand. Dave Leggett interviewed SMTC UK's managing director David Lindley.

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Q&A with Pro² Automotive Engineering

24 June 2013

Pro² Automotive Engineering supplies professional driver services to the automotive industry. Here, Matthew Beecham talked with the company's MD, Simon Poole. A former investment banker and amateur racing driver, Poole set up Pro² in 2007 after winning a contract to supply Lotus with instructors for its permanent customer driving experience in Hethel, UK. The business has since blossomed to the point where its services are proving particularly popular in countries where the automotive engineering process is less developed.

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Q&A with Alset Global: Hydrogen powered race cars

12 April 2013

Since 2005, Alset Global has been developing technologies that will enable the introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles both for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. With European engineering headquarters in Graz, Austria Alset is leading a coalition of more than ten partner organisations to introduce this technology in time for new European emission standards in 2020. At this year's Geneva motor show, Dr Bez, CEO of Aston Martin announced that Alset would be providing its Hybrid Hydrogen system for a prototype Aston Martin Rapide S. This car would become the first hydrogen powered race car to compete in an official race, beating the Garage 56 entry at Le Mans to a track debut. To uncover the full story, Matthew Beecham talked with Alset Global's CEO, Jose Ignacio Galindo.

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Geely acquires majority stakes in Lotus

2 October 2017

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) completed the transaction to purchase a majority stake in the British luxury sports brand Lotus.  Geely Holding now owns a majority stake of 51% in Lotus Advance Technologies Sdn Bhd (Lotus) with a minority...

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Lotus Group reports GBP10m profit in H2 FY2016-17

11 August 2017

Marking a major milestone in the history of Lotus Group International Limited (LGIL), the company finishes the financial year 2016/17 on plan. Lotus closed the year with positive EBITDA of GBP2.0m (US$2.59m), a major achievement compared to 2015/16 where a...

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Lotus presents new Evora GT430

21 July 2017

Following the successful introduction of the Lotus Evora 400 and Evora Sport 410 to global markets, Lotus has unveiled its most powerful road-going model ever - the Evora GT430. A beautiful and pure combination of elegance and power, Lotus has lavished...

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Geely acquires Proton stake and all of Lotus

23 June 2017

DRB-Hicom Berhad has signed an agreement for China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH) to take a 49.9% equity in Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton). DRB also sold its entire stake in Lotus Advance Technology to ZGH and Etika Automotive. The signing came 30 days after both parties signed a heads of agreement on the deal in Putrajaya.

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Lotus unveils new Lotus Elise line up

20 March 2017

Evolved, energised and even lighter, a significant update for the legendary Lotus Elise has been unveiled ahead of its arrival in showrooms this spring. Pride of place in the latest Elise line-up is the new Sprint edition, capturing the spirit of Lotus by...

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Geely reconsiders Proton bid

3 March 2017

Shares of Malaysia’s DRB-Hicom fell sharply in late trading on Friday as investors reacted to news that Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is re-evaluating its recent bid for Proton Holdings.

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Lotus expands Exige model line up with Sport 380

25 November 2016

High powered, highly evolved, and ferociously fast, the Lotus Exige Sport 380 is the most aggressive iteration yet for the Exige model line up. Taking the fight straight to six-figure supercars, this new, top-of-the-range model carries over the lessons...

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Lotus reveals Evora Sport 410

2 November 2016

Transformed, formidable and without equal, the new, class-leading Lotus Evora Sport 410 has been revealed after an intense development programme following its Geneva debut. Massively lighter, with more power and huge gains in aerodynamic efficiency, this...

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Lotus further 'lightweights' Evora 400

22 August 2016

Various lightweighting measures have enabled Lotus to shave 42kg off the weight of its Evora 400 model, the automaker said.

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Mahatir resigns as chairman of Proton, Group Lotus

1 April 2016

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has resigned from his position as chairman of Proton Holdings and chairman of the company’s UK sports car subsidiary Group Lotus.

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Proton developing new range of Euro6C engines

19 January 2016

Malaysia’s first national car company Proton Holdings said it is investing MYR600m (US$136m) to develop a new generation of engines that meet stringent European emission standards.

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Renault completes Lotus F1 team acquisition

22 December 2015

Groupe Renault and Gravity Motorsport S.a.rl, an affiliate of Genii Capital SA, have completed the acquisition by Groupe Renault of a controlling shareholding of Lotus F1 Team Limited.

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Renault completes acquisition of Lotus F1 team

21 December 2015

Groupe Renault has completed acquisition of a controlling shareholding in Lotus F1 Team Limited.

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Detroit Electric car rolls off UK assembly line

29 October 2015

The first production Detroit Electric SP:01 has rolled off the line at the company’s Leamington Spa, UK, manufacturing facility.

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Lotus combining sales and engineering in Michigan

24 June 2015

Lotus Cars USA (LCU), based currently in Lawrenceville, Georgia, will co-locate to Lotus Engineering (LEI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Rio de Janeiro to have a shared electric fleet

29 May 2015

Inspired by an existing service in Paris – Autolibe runs a fleet of 3,000 electric cars with 75,000 registered users – Rio de Janeiro will be the first Brazilian city with an electric car sharing scheme.

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Lotus celebrates production milestone

22 April 2015

Following the original launch of its "pioneering and ground-breaking" Elise in 1995, the Proton group sports car maker Lotus has reached another production landmark - 40,000 examples have been produced of its technologically advanced 'small car platform'.

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Lotus Group enters into new Chinese joint venture

20 April 2015

Lotus Group International, owned by Malaysian automaker Proton Holdings (DRB-Hicom) and China’s Goldstar Heavy Industrial, have agreed to set up a new joint venture company in China to localise production of Lotus cars and "develop the use of efficient and advanced technology".

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GENEVA: Harman showcases sound technologies suite

6 March 2015

Harman says it is the first in the industry to engage in road noise cancellation (RNC) as it demonstrated a suite of technologies at this week's Geneva Motor Show in tandem with Swiss think-tank, Rinspeed and on several OEM vehicles.

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Driver still key for autonomous vehicles: CLEPA

29 October 2014

European automotive supplier body, CLEPA, says drivers will still have to retain an element of responsibility, despite the rapid advances in autonomous potential.

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CLEPA to evaluate organisation and membership

29 October 2014

Newly-installed European automotive supplier body, CLEPA CEO, Paul Schockmel, says he will be examining the organisation's structure to ensure it is functioning in the most efficient way possible.

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New CLEPA CEO cites TTIP benefits for automotive

28 October 2014

European supplier body, CLEPA's new CEO, Paul Schockmel, says he believes the automotive sector is well-poised to secure the benefits of any Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

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Harman expands Halosonic noise management suite

27 October 2014

Harman is expanding its Halosonic suite of noise management solutions, which the company has developed with Lotus Engineering, using patented Active Noise Control Technologies.

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Faurecia looks to carbon fibre cost reduction: CEO

6 October 2014

Faurecia says it is seeking ways to slash the price of carbon fibre as it looks to the increasing use of composite materials and natural products to offer lightweight solutions for mass market models.

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Lotus sees first half sales rise

6 October 2014

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.

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Lotus ending street-legal car sales in US

24 September 2014

Lotus will soon halt the sale of its Evora sports car in the US because the model does not comply with the federal requirement to fit smart airbags.

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Lotus to restructure and up to 325 jobs could go

18 September 2014

Lotus has said that it wants to restructure and may shed as many as 325 jobs, over a quarter of the current workforce.

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Lotus names Millbrook CEO engineering director

3 September 2014

Group Lotus has appointed Miguel Fragoso as engineering director. He will have overall responsibility for all aspects of engineering.

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CLEPA sets out European wish list

23 June 2014

European automotive supplier body, CLEPA, has outlined its shopping list for the next 12 months as the Continent emerges from its long economic winter.

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New CLEPA chief recruitment process "on track"

6 May 2014

European automotive supplier body, CLEPA, says the process to recruit a new CEO following Jean-Marc Gales' sudden departure to Lotus, is "on track."