Lotus dealers assured that car brand will stay Britain-based

Lotus has assured its dealer partners and customers that it will remain a British brand with its headquarters and sports car production in the UK.

It responded to reports that it might close its base in Hethel, Norfolk, with a statement that the UK is the "heart" of the brand and it remains its largest new car market in Europe, and it added that it is "continuing normal operations" and has no plans to close any factory.

Some industry observers believe the article in the Financial Times at the weekend, which quoted unnamed sources from Lotus, had a desired effect, as the UK's business secretary Jonathan Reynolds held an urgent meeting with Lotus and its majority owner Geely to gain assurances it was committed to the UK car plant.

The government says it now plans to work with Lotus and other UK carmakers, cutting manufacturers’ energy costs and providing £2.5bn of much-needed capital and research and development funding.  These measures fall under Labour’s industrial strategy, announced last week.

Hethel has been the home of Lotus since 1966 and is its only manufacturing base in the UK. Focused on Lotus sports cars, it has the capacity to build 5,000 cars per year.

The electric SUVs in the Lotus range are built in China at Geely's Wuhan plant.

In its response to the FT's report, Lotus said it was “actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in an evolving market".

“We have invested significantly in R&D and operations in the UK, over the past six years,” it added.

Since Geely bought its majority stake in 2017 it has funded production facilities at Hethel for the Emira two-seater sports car plus for the £2 million, 2,000bhp electric Evija ‘hypercar’.

In November the carmaker's new chief executive for Europe, Dan Balmer, told told Automotive Management that the manufacturer was simply "reading the room" in adapting its new car strategy as it revealed Lotus dealerships will begin selling 'hyper hybrid' versions of its luxury cars as the carmaker shifts from its exclusively electric vehicle strategy due to consumer reticence.

Like a number of other brands which had set out to be at the forefront of the zero emissions vehicle market, in line with governmental policies, it has had to react to the slower-than-expected adoption of EVs globally.

• From the AM-online archive: Lotus wants its dealer network ready for sales growth.