Lotus To Be Offloaded by Proton?
Discussion
I just looked on the Bloomberg web site and saw this at the top of the UK news. Slow financial news day clearly, but a quick Google suggests it's been picked up by a few other places.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-26/lotus-sal...
But quotes like this
“Proton is better off without Lotus,” said Alexander Chia, a Kuala Lumpur-based analyst at RHB Capital. “There are no product synergies.”"
seem to suggest that this may be just an element of wishful thinking by investors.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-26/lotus-sal...
But quotes like this
“Proton is better off without Lotus,” said Alexander Chia, a Kuala Lumpur-based analyst at RHB Capital. “There are no product synergies.”"
seem to suggest that this may be just an element of wishful thinking by investors.
I love this sentence from http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/cars/lotus/proton-ge...
"Proton, the Malaysian manufacturer of sedans and taxis"...
I've had an Elise for over 3 years and think Dave hedgehog is talking rubbish.
However,the market for spartan sportscars is a small one and it's just not making money for them. It's a shame but most people with 20-30 grand to spend seem to want comfort - those who have more cash to spend and want something sporting also maybe see Lotus as too hardcore, too basic and go to the usual suspects like Porsche etc.
I think I would struggle having an Elise as my only car.
Like all the other car companies over the last 30 years who have got into major financial difficulty: Maserati; Porsche; Aston Martin; Bristol etc they need to come up with something new that will make them a profit - I sincerely hope these new models are the answer but also sadly have my doubts.
I think the Evora could have been a step on the way but as has been debated time and again here, the pricing was maybe a little off.
"Proton, the Malaysian manufacturer of sedans and taxis"...
I've had an Elise for over 3 years and think Dave hedgehog is talking rubbish.
However,the market for spartan sportscars is a small one and it's just not making money for them. It's a shame but most people with 20-30 grand to spend seem to want comfort - those who have more cash to spend and want something sporting also maybe see Lotus as too hardcore, too basic and go to the usual suspects like Porsche etc.
I think I would struggle having an Elise as my only car.
Like all the other car companies over the last 30 years who have got into major financial difficulty: Maserati; Porsche; Aston Martin; Bristol etc they need to come up with something new that will make them a profit - I sincerely hope these new models are the answer but also sadly have my doubts.
I think the Evora could have been a step on the way but as has been debated time and again here, the pricing was maybe a little off.
kambites said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Since you can buy a Toyota from about £12,000 with more airbags, electric windows, safety equipment and accessories than you can count there isn't much excuse for Lotus' inability to stick something similar in an Elise chassis for less than £28,000.
What's that got to do with anything? How much would those Toyotas cost if they didn't have that stuff and if Toyota only made a few thousand a year of them? otolith said:
I think the problem is rather that the aspects in which they are the best cars for the money are not particularly important to many of the buyers of sportscar shaped objects, and the compromises Lotus makes in order to excel in those aspects are unpalatable to said buyers.
As a fellow Elise owner, I think you are spot on.I dearly hope they prosper but the markets they are going for, price apart, are in my opinion not too bothered about the Lotus-ness.
But, what they have been doing hasn't been profitable for years so change was needed. Fascinating to see how it unfolds.
But my original post was prompted by an article I read on Bloomberg at a very quiet time of year for news...at the moment it's just the opinion of a a couple of blokes as to what could happen. I keeps being picked up and repeated, like PH have done, but it's still the same story getting rehashed at the moment with no new or real facts:
http://news.google.co.uk/news/more?q=lotus&hl=...
Edited by limpsfield on Tuesday 3rd January 20:13
This was from four days ago so not really new news
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/A...
"Bosses at car-maker Lotus have insisted it is "business as usual" despite the Malaysian government selling its controlling stake in its parent company...
..The directors' report to March 2011 showed the firm made a pre-tax loss of £26.1 million, compared to a loss of nearly £12 million in 2010...
..A Group Lotus spokesman said: "It doesn't change anything for us at the moment. The situation that's currently going on in Malaysia doesn't change anything. Our plan remains the same - it's business as usual."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/A...
"Bosses at car-maker Lotus have insisted it is "business as usual" despite the Malaysian government selling its controlling stake in its parent company...
..The directors' report to March 2011 showed the firm made a pre-tax loss of £26.1 million, compared to a loss of nearly £12 million in 2010...
..A Group Lotus spokesman said: "It doesn't change anything for us at the moment. The situation that's currently going on in Malaysia doesn't change anything. Our plan remains the same - it's business as usual."
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