Despite excellent news from the car-building side of Lotus recently with the
Exige S Roadster
Elise S Cup R
announced, there remained a little uncertainty about the company's future stability.
RGF money will create around 300 new jobs
Today some of those fears can be allayed thanks to a £10.44 million Government grant through the Regional Growth Fund. The money is expected to create over 300 jobs, a further boost from the 130 new roles confirmed
in August
, supporting research and development of future Lotus models.
The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) saga has been running with Lotus since 2011 when the Government declined the original application, then said yes to a reduced bid, then deactivated the grant following Dany Bahar's suspension. The RGF is a £3.2 billion fund operating across England until 2017 supporting private projects that are creating economic growth and sustainable employment. Let's hope Lotus can deliver on its promises now the Government has paid up.
Aslam Farikullah is Chief Operating Officer at Lotus and said: "We have very exciting plans for our sports cars and it's a very positive move for Lotus." Business Secretary Vince Cable made the journey up to Hethel and added: "Lotus is an iconic British car maker, with some of the most innovative engineers in the business... I am pleased to announce the RGF is awarding Lotus a grant which will help them develop their next generation of cars."
Some positive news from Lotus then, and not before time. We look forward to the company's progress with interest.
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