Mark H Posted March 21, 2006 Posted March 21, 2006 Group Lotus is talking to several manufacturers about making niche vehicles at its plant in Hethel, England. CEO Kim Ogaard-Nielsen said the British group also is looking to expand its engineering business. Both moves are aimed at helping the group turn a profit. Lotus lost £7.4 million (E10.7 million) in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, ended March 31. The company reported revenues of about £162.6 million. The Indonesian carmaker Proton owns Lotus. Lotus' engineering business now accounts for about a quarter of revenues, but Ogaard-Nielsen plans to grow that to about a third by 2010. "We are especially on the move in the field of driving dynamics and lightweight construction," he said in an interview. Lotus says that its engineering customers include several leading carmakers, but it won't say which ones. Ogaard-Nielsen also wants to make more cars at the Hethel factory, including models for other automakers. 8,000 cars a year "We have a couple of opportunities where we are going to manufacture for another company," he said. "We could go up to 8,000 cars a year." Hethel made about 4,500 cars in 2005, including the Lotus Elise and Exige extreme sports cars. Lotus stopped making the Speedster two-seat roadster for General Motors subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall last summer. Ogaard-Nielsen declined to name possible partners. At the Geneva auto show, Lotus showed the APX concept, a seven-seat, coupe-styled, station wagon crossover designed to show off the company's capabilities, including its Versatile Vehicle Architecture, said spokesman Alastair Florance. Lotus claims its architecture offers manufacturers a way to bring a variety of niche vehicles to market quickly "without the compromise that stems from conventional platform sharing." Lotus does not plan to make a vehicle based on the APX, which is short for Aluminum Performance Crossover, but the carmaker will launch two new models soon. The Europa S, Lotus' version of a two-seat grand tourer, goes into production in July. Lotus plans to make about 500 annually. They will go to Europe and Asia, but not the US and Canada. A replacement for the famed Esprit supercar is due in 2008. Lotus also may add a 2+2 model to its lineup, possibly in 2010. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...E/60317018/1003
Mark H Posted March 21, 2006 Author Posted March 21, 2006 http://business.edp24.co.uk/content/news/s...3A06%3A29%3A013 Workers at Lotus have been warned they may lose their jobs after rejecting proposals for more flexible working. And Group Lotus chief executive Kim Ogaard-Nielsen said their decision could have a bearing on where the company locates future projects. Lotus wanted to put assembly line workers on a short-term week during a slowdown in demand for the Elise in the US, banking up the hours to do a longer week when things pick up. But amid increasingly sour relations between staff and management, the idea was rejected in a secret ballot of workers this week. They voted 211-178 against more flexible working, with some unhappy with the lack of consultation and clauses about holidays and sickness. The decision prompted a statement from Mr Ogaard-Nielsen which was circulated to staff at Hethel. “From our point of view it is obviously disconcerting that old-fashioned practices such as adjustment through hire and fire were preferred over more modern, flexible work practices,” he said. “The clear-cut implications of your decision will now form part of the company's forward decision and strategy making,” he added. “Over the next few weeks and months we will determine appropriate staff levels moving forward and, together with the relevant shareholders, we will decide on [the] manufacturing location for several future opportunities. “As was made clear during last week's presentations, the work practices here at Hethel form an integral part of the outcome of these deliberations. The flexibility the company needs will now have to be found elsewhere.” A shopfloor source at Lotus told the EDP there was no union representation at Lotus and workers were unhappy with the staff council. He claimed that team leaders were going round with clipboards yesterday, asking who had voted against the plan. “It's completely out of order and they are trying to use bully-boy tactics. It is not democratic and it is a dictatorship.” He added: “Staff are willing to take on board the principle of flexible working and we really want the company to succeed. But there has been no negotiation and we do not like being dictated to. There is a subliminal threat of redundancy.” Under the proposals, assembly line workers would be paid a full week's wages but work fewer hours for 12 weeks. The hours not worked would be banked and become part of longer weeks when demand picked up.
Mark H Posted March 21, 2006 Author Posted March 21, 2006 Proton, Malaysia’s largest ‘national’ car manufacturer and the parent of Lotus Group, is expected to announce an alliance with a Chinese manufacturer this week in what the Financial Times says will be the first of a series of deals with prospective partners following a strategic review. Azlan Hashim, Proton chairman, acknowledged in an interview with the FT that during the past few months the company had been talking to several potential Chinese partners about collaboration “with the potential to reach an early conclusion”. “At one point we had thought of forming an alliance with just one. But now we are looking for partners in multiple areas, whether for new products, components, market access or other activities,” said Mr Hashim. http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/20-03-06_7 Sounds like it will be the Chinese then.
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