Malaysian national carmaker, Proton Holdings, wants the Lotus brand, which it has owned for over 10 years, to introduce new models.
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Group managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the launch of the Evora, Lotus’ first car since 1995, is a turning point for the brand to scale greater heights.
He added: “”We believe Lotus’s potential is in the branding. If you go acrosss the globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up to it,” he said while hosting a Malaysian journalists’ visit to Lotus’ UK factory.
Lotus group chief executive officer Dany Taner Bahar said the brand’s potential was huge with its long history in motor racing and its reputation as a manufacturer of exciting, innovative and light sports cars.
He added: “Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it’s the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was.”
Besides uplifting the Lotus brand to greater heights and success, Syed Zainal said Proton would continue to explore further and utilise Lotus’ engineering advancements and technologies to enhance Proton’s products and manpower skills.
“We have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are quite determined to make the collaboration stronger.”
Proton’s engineering division director Tajul Zahari Abu Bakar said the Malaysian carmaker expects its new high-torque pressure-charged performance engine, being developed with Lotus Engineering, to be ready by 2011.
He said that 50% of the components were being developed and supplied by Malaysian companies adding that the objective of the engine project is to improve Proton’s capabilities as well as facilitate the transfer of technology to Malaysian suppliers.
Tajul Zahari said the performance of the 1.6 litre engine would be equivalent to that of a two litre and would feature high torque for enhanced driveability with improved economy, performance and emissions.
