Lotus looks increasingly likely to build a niche model for another manufacturer, after its boss admitted the firm was in talks about almost doubling its production levels.
The Norfolk firm, which is owned by Proton, currently builds 4500 cars per year, and the new Europa S model should add 500 to that tally. But Lotus boss Kim Ogaard-Nielsen says he is keen to take on production for other manufacturers. 'We have a couple of opportunities where we are going to manufacture for another company,' he told Automotive News. 'We could go up to 8000 cars a year'
Lotus showed the APX hatchback at the recent Geneva motor show but the most likely scenario is that it will build a niche sports model for a volume manufacturer, as it did with Opel and Vauxhall on the VX220. Recent spy shots have shown VW's radical GX-3 trike concept undergoing tests at Lotus, and Autocar understands that space has already been cleared inside the factory to accommodate a production line for the car.
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