'I am delighted that the UK government has recognised the vital importance to the automotive industry of research into green, environmental and low carbon vehicle solutions,' he said.
Kimberley stressed that the company has been focussed on these areas for some time, noting that going green 'stays true to the Lotus brand value of creating light weight and efficient vehicles.'
This fighting talk comes after last December when Lotus revealed that sales were down by 73%. However the month before the carmaker had announced a £2million profit for the last financial year, which was a dramatic turnaround on the year ending March '07.
Kimberly accepted that difficult times were ahead. 'It will be a very tough year for the global automotive industry, but Lotus is reasonably placed compared to some other car companies,' he added.