Chinese billionaire owner of Volvo and Lynk&Co; Geely, has added yet another feather to its hat with the acquisition of British sports car-makers Lotus. With 51 per cent ownership, Geely now owns majority stake in Lotus, while 49 per cent is held by Malaysian Group, Etika Automotive. Under the new structure, Geely's CFO, Daniel Donghui Li is elected as Chairman, Feng Qing Feng, Geely Auto Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and Nathan Yu Ning, Vice President, will also join the board. Etika has appointed Data' Shari Tarmizi, corporate consultant will announce a further addition to the board in due course. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Lotus, will continue his role.
Daniel Donghui Li, CFO, Geely said, "With the transaction completion we now look forward to working with our partners to develop the Lotus brand into a globally competitive brand and a well-recognized leader in the sports car market. We are extremely confident that Lotus will go above and beyond the expectations of the automotive industry and consumer base in the near future."
Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Lotus said, "Following a successful business turnaround, the Lotus brand has never been in a stronger position and we are now perfectly positioned for growth. We are producing the best cars in the company's history and are currently developing next generation of sports luxury vehicles which will continue to demonstrate the Lotus brand values of class-leading vehicle dynamics, light weighting, styling and aerodynamics by leveraging Geely Holding's global strengths and resources."
In the first half of 2017, Lotus has already entered into a positive cash flow situation with sales rising by 10 per cent in the first half in year on year comparison. With the introduction of new models over the course of this year, including the introduction of the fastest Lotus ever made - the Dvora GT430 and with further expansion into the US and Chinese markets, Geely Holdings are confident that Lotus will continue to excel.
Apart from Volvo and Lynk & Co, Geely also owns stakes in Polestar, London Taxi Company, Yuan Cheng Auto, Proton and now Lotus Group.
