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Lotus signs joint venture agreement with China's Goldstar

Lotus and China's Goldstar Heavy Industrial Company are forming a joint venture that will bring the historic British sports-car maker into the country. "The collaboration seeks to accelerate the development of Lotus cars in the premium sports segment in China," according to the announcement. The JV will include research projects on efficient and advanced technology, and ultimately lead to sales of cars there, Lotus said. China's auto market is no longer experiencing the double-digit growth of the past, but it still continues to expand. Meanwhile, Lotus saw sales jump 55 percent in the last fiscal year and it opened 36 new dealers, according to CEO Jean-Marc Gales. The joint venture announcement also hints at the possibility of Chinese-made models, but it shouldn't dilute the brand. Lotus is clear that core vehicles like the Evora, Exige and Elise would remain exclusively in production at the headquarters in Hethel, England. Just a couple years ago, Lotus appeared to be on its deathbed after losing a quarter of its workforce, but since that setback the company has started to crawl back. PROTON, LOTUS GROUP AND GOLDSTAR SIGNED JV AGREEMENT KUALA LUMPUR – PROTON Holdings Berhad ("PROTON") the ultimate holding company of Lotus Group, announced that it has signed a Joint Venture ("JV") Agreement with Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom ("Lotus Group") and Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co. Ltd. ("Goldstar") for a possible business expansion of Lotus cars in the People's Republic of China. The collaboration seeks to accelerate the development of Lotus cars in the premium sports segment in China, leveraging on the incentives offered by the Fujian Provincial Government. Both PROTON and Lotus Group are subsidiaries of DRB-HICOM Berhad. Signing on behalf of PROTON was the Honourable Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Chairman of PROTON and former Prime Minister of Malaysia and witnessed by Dato' Abdul Harith Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of PROTON. Signing on behalf of Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom was Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer and witnessed by Mr Rohime Shafie, Director of Lotus Group and Chief Financial Officer of PROTON; and signing on behalf of Goldstar was Mr Zheng Qianghui, Chairman of Goldstar and witnessed by Mr Zhai Wenliang, President of Goldstar.

Renault bailing out Lotus F1 Team to pay $4M tax bill

The road ahead looks to be clear for Renault to reacquire the Formula One team that once bore its name. The latest reports have it that the French automaker is prepared to pay a multi-million-dollar tax bill to the British government to keep the Lotus team from entering bankruptcy proceedings. According to the report from Autosport, the Lotus F1 Team owes a massive GBP2.7 million – equivalent to over $4 million at current exchange rates – to the Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs authority for income tax and national insurance (Brit-speak for social security). The team was supposed to have withheld and submitted the funds on behalf of its 400 employees dating back to June, but since it has yet to pay up, it's being taken to court by the UK government. Apparently unable to foot the bill, the cash-strapped team looked poised to enter bankruptcy just as the Caterham and Manor/Marussia teams did last year. But Renault is now poised to step in to the team's rescue. Those with a longer memory for F1 history will point out that the Lotus team – which has little to do with the sports car manufacturer of the same name – dates back to 1981, and has changed title and ownership several times over the years. What was founded as Toleman was then taken over by Benetton. Renault acquired the team in 2000, but sold it to its current owners Genii Capital in 2009. The team based in Enstone, UK, won back-to-back world championships with Michael Schumacher in 1994-95 and again with Fernando Alonso in 2005-06, but has struggled both competitively and financially over recent years. Consigned to an engine-supply role since divesting itself of majority interest in the Lotus team, Renault has been rumored to be preparing to reacquire the outfit from Genii – and in all likelihood switch it back from Mercedes power to its own. Paying the outstanding tax bill will likely emerge as the first step in that reacquisition. Once it takes over full ownership again, Renault is expected to rebrand the team in its own image, and will then have to decide on driver and other personnel contracts for next season. Related Video:

Lotus Type 130 electric hypercar confirmed for July 16 reveal

Lotus just formally announced that its electric hypercar will be revealed on July 16. It's called the Type 130, and it's confirmed for production at Lotus headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk. The name is derived directly from the production quantity, as Lotus is capping the car at just 130 units. This project is coming together at a rapid pace, as Lotus also says the first customer deliveries will happen in 2020. Meeting time goals for the production of EVs has proven troublesome for some manufacturers, so we'll see if Lotus is able to deliver in the next year and a half. The British sports car company has Chinese backing in the form of Geely now, so the funds to make this car happen appear to be there. Lotus says that it's had several hundred people express interest in buying the Type 130 since its confirmation at the Shanghai Auto Show. Of course, with only 130 slots available to buy the vehicle, we'll see how it all shakes out once Lotus announces what we expect will be an extravagant price tag. Hypercars, and especially electric hypercars, are never cheap. Lotus released a teaser photo that tells us next to nothing, but it is a photo of the car. The teaser video below is a bit more interesting with the "Hand Built in Britain By Lotus" emblem and the electric charge port hidden off to the left. It has an automatically closing door there, which doesn't exactly feel like Lotus' style. If something can be done mechanically to save weight, that's typically the path taken. We won't prejudge the car too harshly, though, as this represents an entirely new take on Lotus vehicles. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.