The story of Geely entering the Western market began a positive one. It has been showered with praise for how it handled Volvo for its first decade in charge, making it a mainstream premium player more than ever before.
But as time has gone on, there’s been little evidence to back up that early success with other western brands. Polestar, though engineering decent cars, is hugely loss-making; Volvo is undergoing painful cuts after becoming too bloated itself; and then there was the delayed EX90 launch, and even when it did come, it still wasn’t ready.
Geely’s acquisition of Lotus began brightly: Lotus was in dire straits and Geely swooped in to save the day. In the early days, things were looking up. It built gradually, invested in Hethel and the Emira and let the Lotus brand be resplendent in its sports car heritage.
But then it opened a new design centre in the Midlands, the first sign that Hethel was no longer Lotus’s raison d’être, and announced new models which were essentially Chinese-developed and built EVs. These were rushed through for the anticipated demand of luxury electric SUVs and saloons – a demand that is yet to come. In doing so, it weakened the heart of Lotus, demoting Hethel, its people and expertise.
Geely’s sizable funds haven’t been wisely placed either. It brought in executives above those already there, people who had no reverence for the brand, and opened lavish facilities including in London and Amsterdam, creating yet more disconnect between the Lotus we all know and love. This profligacy was only made worse by unachievable targets for its EV sales, which were all missed by a mile.
This latest news hit the automotive industry hard when it broke last Friday. There has clearly been back-and-forth with the UK government, Geely and Lotus, so while Geely is adamant that Lotus has a place at Hethel, time will tell.
One thing’s for sure: Geely has managed it badly and might have ultimately caused the demise of one of UK automotive’s most lauded locations.
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A fundamental problem for me is the positioning of brands within the Geely empire. So there's one 5 door £100k GT supposedly coming out on a fairly bespoke platform and another similar vehicle but on more of a shared Geely platform.
So how come Polestar get the bespoke platform for the 5, surely that should be Lotus opportunity to shine?
...so Geely's adamant that Lotus has a place at Hethel. It's meaningless - they've given no reassurances about vehicle production. What's betting that in three years it'll be nothing more than a heritage centre with pricey experience days on the legendary test track? The rest will be bulldozed a la Longbridge with a few light engineering sheds and a sad little housing estate with names like Elite Close and Chapman Way.
My gut feel is this was always on the cards due to the higher labour costs in the UK and the key markets for British sports cars being thousands of miles away. Just tragic, as the cars and excellent local workforce deserve better.
Where does that mantra fit with the products Geely are developing under the Lotus name?
Brand identity is everything so be creative and work with the philosophy Colin Chapman held so dear.
The Emira has been recognised as a great car but going against Porsche ain't easy. Lotus needs to offer something more than one great car but more than that it needs to create a unique market position which separates it from other players. It was always renowned as being different; it needs to be again.
Creating vast SUVs goes totally against 'Add lightness'.
If the market demands an SUV why not do something like a Freelander. Small, lightweight (as it can be under legislation), brilliant handling, practical and something only Range Rover compete with. Oh yes, and hybrid. NOT electric. Electric cars are a con and people are gradually realising that.
A Lotus hot hatch? Put it in a class above the manstream but equally as brilliant (if not more so) than a Ford ST, Renault RS or Golf R. These are the sort of cars I'd be interested in.
Lotus, plough your own furrow, market position yourselves properly, make cars with a unique appeal, keep as light as possible and as brilliant to drive as you've always been. Oh yes, and stay at Hethel.
Would Ferrari move Maranello? Mmmm. It's all part of what the brand stands for. Ignore or discard at your peril.