Thanks to the automaker’s new owners, Lotus could join the crossover segment.
Earlier this year in June, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a deal to buy a majority stake in Lotus from DRB-Hicom. Geely, which also owns Volvo, is now looking at how to make Lotus more profitable and that means a crossover is under consideration.
At the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, Carl-Peter Forster, geely board member and chairman of Geely-owned London taxi maker LEVC, spoke on how Lotus “has a brand image that hasn’t faded.” He added, “It’s small volume, but we all believe there is more opportunity than the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that are currently sold.”
SEE ALSO: Volvo’s Chinese Parent Company is Buying Lotus
Forster is also the former CEO of General Motors Europe and believes Lotus could benefit by looking at other segments, saying Lotus could easily expand to produce “any size of car and any number of cars” without straying far from the brand’s focus on compact, lightweight, and agile cars. He looked at the Porsche Cayenne as proof that sports car manufacturers can produce crossovers to help boost sales without diluting the brand.
Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales has also been vocal on the idea of Lotus producing a crossover, and now it could become a reality. LEVC’s latest plug-in hybrid London taxi rides on a lightweight aluminum platform, similar to how Lotus builds its sports cars. Forster said there could be cost synergies between the companies, and his team would be happy to provide support if Lotus requires it.
[Source: Automotive News]
Leave a Reply