It’s no secret Lotus has been in trouble for a while. CEO Dany Bahar was let go in 2012. The automaker lost more than $251 million in its fiscal year that ended March 31, 2013. It’s reducing its workforce of 1,215 employees by as many as 325 in an effort to cut costs and stop losses.
However, things are getting better…a little.
The new chief exec of Lotus, Jean-Marc Gales, told Automotive News, “In the first four months of this financial year [which started in April] we sold 46 percent more cars.”
Buuuuuuut…
“That’s still not sufficient to guarantee our future. We need to continue to reduce costs and we are fully aware of the hardship that brings for our workforce.”
Not only does the manufacturer need to lower its cost of doing business, it needs to increase the number of dealerships in its network to move more vehicles. Right now, Lotus doesn’t have sales locations in London (how does an iconic British sports car company not have a showroom there?!), Paris, Madrid, northern Italy, Hamburg, or Berlin.
Fortunately, the manufacturer has opened nine new dealerships over the past six months. Even better: Gales said, “I would not exclude having 20 more in this financial year.”
Going forward, Lotus will stick with its aluminum tub chassis (which will become more rigid and ingress/egress-friendly) and announce a couple of “product enhancements that will make the heart of any Lotus enthusiast beat faster.” That’s if their hearts aren’t completely broken by the facts that none of the five concepts introduced in Paris four years ago will make it to production and that a new Lotus-built V8 is off the table.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
