Lotus denies plan to close Hethel plant and move production to US as tariffs bite, EV plans scuppered

A caller study from Autocar volition travel arsenic a astonishment to anyone who has followed Lotus’ history. According to the publication, the storied British sports car shaper has been told by proprietor Geely to hole its Hethel works for closure aft 59 years of accumulation and determination to the US, said a source.

The determination was aimed astatine shoring up accumulation aft the institution was hard-hit by a cleanable tempest of circumstances arsenic a effect of president Donald Trump coming backmost into power. Production of the Emira sports car has been halted since mid-May arsenic Lotus managed the fallout of higher tariffs, and portion the Eletre SUV was expected to widen the people marketplace and defender against specified instabilities, the 100% tariff connected Chinese-made EVs has enactment paid to that, too. Sales of the car successful the US person since stopped, it was reported.

In response, Lotus’ higher-ups person been mulling moving accumulation to eradicate tariff barriers, with CEO Feng Qingfeng saying during the firm’s archetypal 4th net telephone past Wednesday: “We judge that localisation is simply a feasible plan. We are trying to leverage our US strategy to drawback up the losses owed to the tariff hike.”

Feng added that the institution has had an “in-depth treatment with our strategical partners” to nutrient cars successful the US, though helium did not specify who those partners were. Autocar speculated that the institution could determination immoderate production, specified arsenic the Emira, to the under-utilised South Carolina plant of Geely’s different subsidiary Volvo.

Since Autocar reached out, however, Lotus has issued a connection saying that determination were nary plans to adjacent the factory. “The UK is the bosom of the Lotus marque – location to our sports car manufacturing, planetary plan centre, motorsport operations, and Lotus Engineering,” it said. “It is besides our largest commercialized marketplace successful Europe.”

It did, however, proceed to authorities that it is “exploring strategical options to heighten ratio and guarantee planetary competitiveness” successful an evolving market. “We person invested importantly successful R&D and operations successful the UK, implicit the past six years. Lotus remains committed to the UK, and its customers, employees, dealers, suppliers, arsenic good arsenic its arrogant British heritage.”

The connection came aft the British authorities told Lotus it was consenting to connection enactment to support section jobs, Autocar cited Financial Times. Business caput Jonathan Reynolds met with institution officials yesterday and was assured that “they are committed to their UK operations and person nary plans to adjacent their Hethel plant,” The Guardian reported a section for concern and commercialized spokesperson arsenic saying.

Persistent losses person near Lotus scrambling to chopped costs, including laying disconnected 270 workers astatine Hethel successful April; the institution is besides acceptable to adjacent its costly caller office successful Clerkenwell, London conscionable months aft it opened. Its flagship store successful Park Lane, meanwhile, has been transferred to the HR Owen trader group, understood to beryllium different cost-cutting measure.

The beleaguered carmaker has yet to marque a nett since Geely purchased it from Proton and DRB-Hicom backmost successful 2017. Its determination to electrification, successful peculiar with much mass-market electrical models similar the Eletre and the Emeya sedan, has yet to wage off, with Feng saying that “in caller years, premium marque BEV penetration does not conscionable our expectation.”

Lotus’ income fell 42% successful the archetypal 4th of the year, the archetypal diminution since the 2 “lifestyle” cars were introduced. Aside from income halting for the Eletre successful the US, the institution has besides seen falling request successful Europe and China, with deliveries of the 2 models down 31% to conscionable 719 units successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025. As a result, nett nonaccomplishment climbed to US$183 cardinal (RM770 million), portion mounting debts deed US$3.3 cardinal (RM13.9 billion).

In response, Lotus is pivoting hard towards “Hyper Hybrids”, mirroring a determination seen elsewhere successful Geely’s sprawling web of brands. Plug-in hybrid versions of the Eletre volition spell connected merchantability from the archetypal 4th of adjacent twelvemonth onwards, starting successful China. Meanwhile, the institution is considering a hybrid Emira to grow the lifespan of the “final mainstream combustion motor Lotus two-seater,” having postponed its electrical successor indefinitely. A V8 exemplary is besides being considered, arsenic was previously reported.

It’s harmless to accidental that Lotus has overestimated its maturation considerably. It predicted past twelvemonth that it would beryllium gathering 150,000 cars annually by 2028, astir of those being a caller Porsche Macan-rivalling Type 134 electrical SUV that was acceptable to motorboat successful 2027. However, that car has besides been postponed owed to the planetary EV slowdown and Lotus has struggled to wage disconnected Geely’s investment, which has totalled £2 cardinal (RM11.6 billion). Deliveries past twelvemonth reached conscionable 12,134.

The station Lotus denies program to adjacent Hethel works and determination accumulation to US arsenic tariffs bite, EV plans scuppered appeared archetypal connected Paul Tan's Automotive News.