Why proton buy lotus

In , the two brands had combined sales globally of around , units, which dropped With a change at the helm of the organisations, the two brands Proton and Lotus are expected to witness growth, IHS Markit forecasts show.

Geely has long had a desire to acquire the Lotus brand and the automaker has been in and out of the news regarding this for a while. Meanwhile, Lotus has started a Lotus Exclusive service to create bespoke models for customers. This type of high exclusivity could fare well in China with the upper echelons of the consumer segment. The acquisition will give Geely one more brand in its line-up and will allow it to access the higher end of the market, targeting luxury consumers above its Volvo brand.

In terms of production, therefore, Geely Holding is likely to use bases in Malaysia for the assembly of Geely models, while also strengthening investment to push the Proton brand to gain a greater market share in its domestic market, where it has seen sales decline in recent times. Meanwhile, IHS Markit has contacted the Chinese automaker to ascertain whether the company's new plant in Coventry, United Kingdom, could in the future produce for other group brands.

Lotus cars are currently made at the Hethel plant in the UK, but in a deal was announced between Lotus's owners and the Fujian provincial authorities in the city of Quanzhou for the assembly of Lotus cars in China. Benjamin Zhang. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.

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Artioli said the deal was sealed in 20 minutes at a meeting with Yahaya on Oct 18 in Hethel, after three months of negotiations. It said the partnership would provide Lotus with opportunities to develop new export markets for its world renowned sports cars, particularly in the Far East and, together with Proton, to take part in the World GT1 motor racing championship. The statement said the change in ownership would not affect the way that the Norfolk-based company's businesses, including Lotus Engineering, were managed, and would also secure the long-term future of its car production in Britain and safeguard jobs at the Hethal plant.

Lotus Engineering has craved a name for itself as a leading independent supplier of design engineering and technology to automotive and industrial clients throughout the world. It is involved in about projects with 40 customers.