Lotus CEO - lighter, faster Evora, weight loss strategy

[otolith]

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/simplif...

autocar said:

At the Geneva motor show next March, Lotus will have a heavily revised version of the Evora featuring changes inside and out, about 15 per cent more power and less weight"

autocar said:

"To aid this drive towards efficiency, Gales has set up a so-called Lightweight Lab, a large room in which all the components of a disassembled Elise, Exige and Evora are laid out on trestles.

The weight and cost of every piece are labelled, and in recent days no fewer than 800 staff have toured the room, suggesting an amazing 1140 ideas for reducing those figures. It’s not yet clear how much weight can be saved per car, but 50kg seems well within reach, while cost reductions are believed to be running at about 10 per cent per car.

autocar said:

Lotus was last in the news with an announcement of 300 redundancies from a workforce of 1200, but Gales believes that following this “very regrettable” event, the company is now correctly configured for recovery.

“When I arrived six months ago we had 1200 people making 1200 cars a year,” says Gales. “We could not have survived like that. Now we are 900 people, and this year we will make around 2000 cars. Next year the figure should be 3000 cars, then 3000 for several more years. This will change the equation completely.”

Looks like he's got the right ideas - pity he doesn't have the budget Bahar pissed up the wall.

[Jellinek]

otolith said:

Looks like he's got the right ideas - pity he doesn't have the budget Bahar pissed up the wall.

I'm a little hesitant about JMG's ideas after reading he is contemplating a Proton based SUV or a crossover based on the Evora platform. A 2+2 mid engine crossover....? ..Really?

Why he feels the need to pursue such oddities, patently out of context with Lotus' core marque values to increase sales is a mystery. Currently Lotus has the Elise, Exige and Evora models in its line up. With very little engineering input, he could bring a SWB 2-seater Evora in hardtop and convertible versions to market. An Esprit replacement with the Longitudinally mounted SC V6, with a CF rear subframe and body panels would make a worthy flagship.

He could then set his engineers the task of adapting the Eagle platform to use as many carryover elements as possible in a front engine / transaxle layout. This would open to the doors to an Elan replacement to appeal to the original buyers of the MX5, a new Elite 2+2 and a high end coupe to undercut and embarrass the likes of Aston and Ferrari.

I also believe there is growing market segment for cars like the Morgan 3 wheeler which offer huge fun at relatively low speeds and Lotus is in a prime position to exploit this. Something along the lines of the original Elise chassis, with cut down sills and the excellent three cylinder Ford Ecoboost engine would surely prove to be a tempting proposition. In total, that would provide 7 models with added convertible and cup variations on some.

However, if JMG is sounding out SUV's and crossovers at this stage, my feeling is he intends to chase volumes far in excess of 10k cars a year rather than concentrating on margins or in other words basically follow the VAG model.

If he does, he will do well to remember that VW cascaded is state-of-the-art platforms DOWN to SEAT and Skoda, which is entirely different to dressing up one of the original Skoda platforms for use on the next Golf. Platform sharing the wrong way round doesn't work, just ask Jag about the X Type....

[otolith]

The idea of a Lotus branded SUV makes me nauseous, but they want one for the same reason Porsche did. If it means the rest of the cars don't have to be watered down into quick commuters, it's an evil worth tolerating.

[Jellinek]

otolith said:

The idea of a Lotus branded SUV makes me nauseous, but they want one for the same reason Porsche did. If it means the rest of the cars don't have to be watered down into quick commuters, it's an evil worth tolerating.

Similar things have been said many times to justify a volume seller, but I don't buy into the logic I'm afraid. Porsche were profitable with the introduction of the Boxster alongside the 911, and Ferrari have yet to produce an SUV, with good reason. Aston's foray with the Cygnet was a disaster, justified on the grounds of reducing corporate average fuel economy and yet there are no plans to replace it now its dead and buried.
No, there is no reason why a robust and considered business plan based on Lotus' historic portfolio cannot be successful imho. They key to it all is having desirable products with innovative engineering behind it, both of which rely on having the right people in the right places. Ultimately, only time will tell I suppose....