RE: Lotus to hire 200 engineers in new expansion
Tuesday 14th May 2019
Lotus to hire 200 engineers in new expansion
New employees will be shared between Hethel and forthcoming Warwickshire satellite site
It’s not all doom and gloom in the British car industry this month; Lotus has just announced that it will hire 200 new engineers as it seeks to expand with Geely’s backing. Increasing the workforce is an essential part of the firm’s new growth plans, which include the opening of a new satellite facility in the Midlands, and the launch of its Type 130 electric hypercar.
Geely’s purchase of the brand in 2017 has already triggered the recruitment of 289 staff, pushing the number of employees over the 1,000 mark, but the next emphasis is on boosting production numbers to 5,000 cars a year, which will mean growing the engineering team. Such bullishness is, of course, to be encouraged: who doesn’t want to see Lotus back, fit and firing?
A spokesperson for the firm was keen to stress to PH that the workforce expansion will place jobs at both of its UK sites - emphasising the importance of Hethel at the heart of the operation - but the new Warwickshire operation will certainly have a role in engineering future models. Lotus is expected to replace its ageing Elise in the next decade, with new versions of its higher ranking sports cars likely to follow using shared components.
It goes without saying we can expect engine downsizing and the integration of electrified power in more than just that top £1 million EV model. But if the process keeps one of Britain’s most innovative sports car manufacturers alive and kick during turbulent times, then that can only be a good thing - and who better to turn a low volume EV into a driver’s car than Lotus?
Discussion
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
I attended the 70th Anniversary event at Hethel last Sept and the CEO of Geely said that it important that they don't lose sight of what the company was founded on. It will be disappointing if they do. I've not long owned a fairly new Elise so I'll be keeping hold of it if they do.
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
Not enough people want pure drivers cars hence they sell 200 a year in the UK and only a couple of thousand worldwide. Things have to change as the current customer base will not help them survive.The so called purists talk about wanting a stripped out focussed toy but, and I am sure there is data on this, the reality is that most Lotus cars now come optioned with air con, sound deadening, carpets etc etc so how real is that request??
Good news indeed.
I think it's inevitable that the new Elise is a bit of a deviation from the old one. A naturally aspirated (ir supercharged) engine is unlikely, as is a manual gearbox and I think we're unlikely to see a kerb weight of under a tonne and consequently unlikely to see unassisted steering. I think Lotus have two options really - aim squarely at the Alpine, or go electric and try to create a new segment for a smallish, lightish electric sports car. Personally I think I'd rather see them do the latter because we already have the Alpine and it's really very good.
I think it's inevitable that the new Elise is a bit of a deviation from the old one. A naturally aspirated (ir supercharged) engine is unlikely, as is a manual gearbox and I think we're unlikely to see a kerb weight of under a tonne and consequently unlikely to see unassisted steering. I think Lotus have two options really - aim squarely at the Alpine, or go electric and try to create a new segment for a smallish, lightish electric sports car. Personally I think I'd rather see them do the latter because we already have the Alpine and it's really very good.
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
Not enough people want pure drivers cars hence they sell 200 a year in the UK and only a couple of thousand worldwide. Things have to change as the current customer base will not help them survive.The so called purists talk about wanting a stripped out focussed toy but, and I am sure there is data on this, the reality is that most Lotus cars now come optioned with air con, sound deadening, carpets etc etc so how real is that request??
My Elise has A/C (I offset the weight with some carbon bits, not that I'll ever be able to tell the difference), but it is still absolutely a driver's car, just not one that I boil in.
Baldchap said:
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
Not enough people want pure drivers cars hence they sell 200 a year in the UK and only a couple of thousand worldwide. Things have to change as the current customer base will not help them survive.The so called purists talk about wanting a stripped out focussed toy but, and I am sure there is data on this, the reality is that most Lotus cars now come optioned with air con, sound deadening, carpets etc etc so how real is that request??
My Elise has A/C (I offset the weight with some carbon bits, not that I'll ever be able to tell the difference), but it is still absolutely a driver's car, just not one that I boil in.
. I started basic in the S1 but by the time I got to my V6 Exige it had pretty much all the options. To be fair though the engine fairly over compensated for it 
I agree with the previous comment that jumping past the current crop and leading the way with an electric sports car would be a good plan
"It goes without saying we can expect engine downsizing"
Blimey i thought the Elise had already fallen to 1600cc, surely a much smaller capacity without EV couldn't really be classified a sportscar from a performance perspective no matter how light, or pointless if there is an EV option!
Great to know Lotus is expanding and there remains a market for them - we aren't good enough at promoting UK success - whether its ultimately UK owned or not .......
Blimey i thought the Elise had already fallen to 1600cc, surely a much smaller capacity without EV couldn't really be classified a sportscar from a performance perspective no matter how light, or pointless if there is an EV option!
Great to know Lotus is expanding and there remains a market for them - we aren't good enough at promoting UK success - whether its ultimately UK owned or not .......
Andy JB said:
"It goes without saying we can expect engine downsizing"
Blimey i thought the Elise had already fallen to 1600cc, surely a much smaller capacity without EV couldn't really be classified a sportscar from a performance perspective no matter how light, or pointless if there is an EV option!
No, they appear to have dropped the 1.6 - and the naturally aspirated 1.8, they only have supercharged 1.8 cars on the website now.Blimey i thought the Elise had already fallen to 1600cc, surely a much smaller capacity without EV couldn't really be classified a sportscar from a performance perspective no matter how light, or pointless if there is an EV option!
https://www.lotuscars.com/range/elise/
They've kind of done the opposite of downsizing, given that the two Elise platform cars now only come with superchargers and 1.8 or 3.5 litre engines!
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
Not enough people want pure drivers cars hence they sell 200 a year in the UK and only a couple of thousand worldwide. Things have to change as the current customer base will not help them survive.The so called purists talk about wanting a stripped out focussed toy but, and I am sure there is data on this, the reality is that most Lotus cars now come optioned with air con, sound deadening, carpets etc etc so how real is that request??
My Elise has A/C (I offset the weight with some carbon bits, not that I'll ever be able to tell the difference), but it is still absolutely a driver's car, just not one that I boil in.
. I started basic in the S1 but by the time I got to my V6 Exige it had pretty much all the options. To be fair though the engine fairly over compensated for it Baldchap said:
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
400SE Dave said:
Baldchap said:
I'll be very interested in whether the replacement Elise ruins the formula. There aren't many pure drivers' cars left.
Not enough people want pure drivers cars hence they sell 200 a year in the UK and only a couple of thousand worldwide. Things have to change as the current customer base will not help them survive.The so called purists talk about wanting a stripped out focussed toy but, and I am sure there is data on this, the reality is that most Lotus cars now come optioned with air con, sound deadening, carpets etc etc so how real is that request??
My Elise has A/C (I offset the weight with some carbon bits, not that I'll ever be able to tell the difference), but it is still absolutely a driver's car, just not one that I boil in.
. I started basic in the S1 but by the time I got to my V6 Exige it had pretty much all the options. To be fair though the engine fairly over compensated for it Looking forward to seeing what the new Elise will be like.
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