Geely gearing up for Lotus production in China
New factory in Wuhan city will apparently include Lotus models. Quelle surprise
When news broke last year of Geely's plan to invest £1.5bn into its Norfolk outpost, we greeted it with the cautious optimism of a group of people who had already been led up the garden path more than once. We also acknowledged at the time that it was probably likely that some manufacturing would eventually migrate to China, given the home address of its new owners and the extent of their ambitions for the brand.
Now, it seems, there is virtual confirmation of that fact with Reuters reporting that the opening of a new £1bn factory in Wuhan city was accompanied by an official government statement declaring that "Geely's Lotus project" was included in the future production plans for the plant. Further investigation by the news agency revealed that Geely is already advertising for at least 20 Wuhan-based roles connected to Lotus on its website.
Does this mean your 2020 model year Elise will come with 'Made in China' stamped on it? Probably not. Instead the expansion is consistent with the exponential growth Geely has in mind for its latest aquisition. The Chinese firm is deadly serious about growing its share of the premium market, and building famous-name cars at volume is obviously the best (and quickest) way of doing that. Of course, when we say 'cars', we mean SUVs because - as we already know - that's the bodyshape being hustled through development at Hethel.
That the new model is designed and engineered at Lotus is crucial to its credibility, but Geely will rather be betting that, in the longer term and certainly globally, no-one will much mind that it rolls off the production line elsewhere - in much the same way that no-one gripes about their Porsche Cayenne being built at a Volkswagen plant in Slovakia.
Frankly, if the successful launch of a Chinese-built luxury SUV cements the status of the designers and engineers at Hethel, and bankrolls their ability to make interesting and exciting sports cars - as it does at Porsche - we're all for the increased scale offered to it by space on the production line at a shiny new facility in Wuhan city.
Someone was lecturing me on here the other day about the apparently crucial distinction between "commercial success" and "brand integrity"....
The best hope is that wider development of the brand will produce the real cash money needed to develop some new, world class sports cars - and hopefully with ongoing activity/employment at Hethel.
Personally, I couldn't care less where they're built anyway. If they're investing heavily in the UK in a way which generates jobs here, I don't see a downside to them also employing people in China. Companies cannot realistically build cars outside China to sell in China; the taxation system means the economies just don't stack up.
I suspect (and hope) that the sports cars are made in Hethel. these will be a small % of total sales.
That is of course assuming they continue to make sports cars at all.
I assume that for the Chinese market, some sports car production would also happen in China for domestic tax reasons. Sounds good to me.
I assume that for the Chinese market, some sports car production would also happen in China for domestic tax reasons. Sounds good to me.
FFS! I've owned 11 so I think I speak with some authority here. I wouldn't buy a Lotus if it was made anywhere else and I won't wish them luck as I do not agree with it.
Boggy
I don't see what there is to agree to either. Cars of all main brands are made all over the place, people mostly don't care
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