Lotus plant won't close, carmaker's Chinese owners insist

Times

13 hours ago

The business secretary says he has been reassured that Lotus's plant in Norfolk will not be shut down after crunch weekend talks with its Chinese owner.
Jonathan Reynolds met the British sports carmaker and Geely, its Chinese majority-owner, on Sunday amid uncertainty over the 59-year-old factory in Hethel.
In a statement after the meeting, a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said Reynolds had been 'reassured by management that they are committed to their UK operations and have no plans to close their Hethel plant'.
During the meeting, Reynolds set out the government's commitment to working with Lotus and the UK's car sector to improve its competitiveness. This would include cutting manufacturers' energy costs and providing £2.5 billion of capital and research and development funding, measures announced last week as part of Labour's industrial strategy.
Uncertainty over the future of the plant, which employs about 1,300 people, was triggered by a report in the Financial Times that Lotus planned to end production there.
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In response, Lotus issued a statement on Saturday, saying that it had 'no plans' to close the factory, which was founded in 1966, and remained 'committed' to the UK, its largest commercial market in Europe and the 'heart' of the brand.
The manufacturer said it was 'continuing normal operations' and was 'actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in the evolving market.
'We have invested significantly in R&D [research and development] and operations in the UK, over the past six years,' it added.
Geely acquired a 51 per cent stake in Lotus in 2017, as part of a deal to invest in Proton, its Malaysian owner, after years of losses at the company.
The Chinese group has invested £3 billion but has struggled with the transition to upmarket electric vehicles and more recently US tariffs, and has shifted attention to a new site in Wuhan, eastern China.
Shares in Lotus have fallen by 84 per cent since listing on Nasdaq in February last year.
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Ben Goldsborough, the Labour MP for South Norfolk, whose constituency includes the Hethel plant, said: 'The one thing that we need to make sure is that with the Chinese ownership talking about the plant being safe, that it's not just the plant being safe, but there is a future as well in their proposals.
'That's why the British management team that I've been working very closely with alongside ministers have made it very clear that there is a desire to make sure that this isn't just an industry or a factory that stays there in name but it's also producing and keeping the Lotus brand alive as well.'
This meant that 'concrete proposals on the future' of the plant were required, beyond 'warm words', Goldsborough said.