Lotus secures future with new funding

Lotus secures future with new funding

It has not been an easy year for Lotus, but Malaysian parent company DRB-Hicom has signed off on a plan to keep the British automaker alive for at least another three years, reports Autocar UK. "We are coming out with the variants based on existing products," says DRB's managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil. What does this mean? Most importantly, the demise of ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar's five-car model portfolio.

Instead, Lotus will offer renditions of current models with improved technology, better performance and superior quality as well as pricing. We have already seen the Exige S, the first model under this umbrella. It will be followed by variants of the Evora and the Elise.

Though no concrete dollar figure has been placed on DRB's investment, it had put in nearly £100-million (about $158-million CAD) over the course of a year and a half. The move also comes after Lotus ultimately stepped up production to 40 cars per month and sold 80 up until June of this year, as compared to 70 by the end of 2012.

Source
http://www.driving.ca/research-car/news/Lotus+secures+future+with+funding/8695889/story.html

cmack 4,136

Lotus secures future with new funding

It has not been an easy year for Lotus, but Malaysian parent company DRB-Hicom has signed off on a plan to keep the British automaker alive for at least another three years, reports Autocar UK. "We are coming out with the variants based on existing products," says DRB's managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil. What does this mean? Most importantly, the demise of ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar's five-car model portfolio.

Instead, Lotus will offer renditions of current models with improved technology, better performance and superior quality as well as pricing. We have already seen the Exige S, the first model under this umbrella. It will be followed by variants of the Evora and the Elise.

Though no concrete dollar figure has been placed on DRB's investment, it had put in nearly £100-million (about $158-million CAD) over the course of a year and a half. The move also comes after Lotus ultimately stepped up production to 40 cars per month and sold 80 up until June of this year, as compared to 70 by the end of 2012.

Source
http://www.driving.ca/research-car/news/Lotus+secures+future+with+funding/8695889/story.html

cmack 4,136