Good news for the Lotus brand as its new owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is considering an investment of about USD1.9 billion to revive the British brand and have it compete directly with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.
The Chinese company, which also owns Volvo Cars and Proton, plans to add production facilities and research centers for Lotus in the UK. Geely is also in talks to increase its 51% stake in Lotus with its Malaysian partner Etika Automotive, which holds the remainder.
The investment plan is part of Billionaire Li Shufu’s grand vision to take Geely to the forefront of the auto industry to challenge the global dominance of Toyota & the Volkswagen Group. Li’s group acquired Volvo in 2010 and spent more than USD11 billion to modernize its factories and help turn around the Swedish brand. In February, Li emerged to be the biggest shareholder in German luxury automaker Daimler with an almost 10% stake.
