Lotus has been awarded £10.44m (approx RM50-60 million) from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund which will fund development of new models and create 313 new jobs.
This is the second time the struggling car manufacturer from Hethel received cash injection after new parent company, DRB-HICOM, announced they will turnaround Lotus on a three-year plan with £100m funding, aimed to revitalize the struggling Lotus and return it to former glory.
The current Lotus lineup consists of updated variants of existing products, from the Elise and Exige. The last time Lotus rolled out a new model was the Evora (as seen below) in 2009. It is unclear if the long-awaited Esprit will be the next Lotus to be launched. The Esprit was previously among the infamous 5 new ambitious Lotus lineup under former MD, Dany Bahar, but the plan was unceremoniously canned when Bahar was.
Lotus boss Aslam Farikullah said: “This grant is part of a wider strategy for Lotus created to ensure we thrive and grow. We are responding to increased global demand for our cars and engineering consultancy services and this grant will help to position Lotus at the forefront of global automotive innovation.
“We have very exciting plans for our sports cars and it’s a very positive move for Lotus that we’re in a position to create new jobs and to significantly contribute to Britain’s automotive industry.
“The team here at Lotus have worked very hard to secure this grant and every employee is playing their part in the stability, growth and future success of our company.”
