Speech Delivered By Luke Bennett, Operations Director Of Lotus Cars

Transcript of the speech delivered by Luke

Bennett, Operations Director of Lotus

Cars, at 15.45hrs on 15th September 2009

at the Frankfurt IAA:

Ladies and Gentlemen;

The Lotus brand is all about a performance technology lifestyle. We make

exciting sports cars and develop engineering innovation. Our brand stems

from our motor racing heritage – Lotus, of course, grew out of the disciplines

of motorsport - and we have more news later relating to Lotus' return to the

motorsport arena.

Our brand philosophies of lightweight, exciting aerodynamic styling, true high

performance and innovation are more relevant today than ever before in this

increasingly carbon-conscious world. Cars need to perform better, be more

focused on intelligent weight reduction and become simply more efficient for a

new age of motoring. But they also must not lose the key value of the

fundamental enjoyment of driving. Lotus has the experience and expertise to

achieve this aim.

Being green and being true to our principles are entirely consistent! Trends in

consumer preferences and the emergence of new technologies create an

enormous opportunity for Lotus to stand as a leading light in the automotive

industry, and expand both areas of our business. The future trend is clear and

Lotus intends to lead the change, not follow.

As an example, the new multi-award winning Lotus Evora sets new standards

for fuel efficiency in the high-performance sports car market with CO2

emissions of just 205 g/km.

The Evora is Lotus' first step to migrate from a single platform car company to

a three model range, a vital stage in our long term brand development and we

are delighted with the way the car has been received.

First customer deliveries of the Evora have already started and there is a

substantial order bank of five months' production, clearly demonstrating its

appeal to the 21st century sports car customer.

To cope with this demand, we have recruited 150 additional staff representing

a 30% increase which probably makes us unique at this time in recruiting staff

to meet global demand.

And our brand development continues, with €25m of investment earmarked for

product development this year on top of the €35m invested last year.

Similarly, Lotus Engineering is committed to driving forward with sustainable

low carbon technology derived from our ethos and expertise of reducing

vehicle weight.

Our engineering track record in technologies such as hybrid and electric

vehicles and sustainable fuels firmly places us as one of the world's leading

automotive consultancies for the new culture of transport.

And to illustrate that relevance to the industry and the value Lotus can bring, I

can report today that Lotus Engineering increased sales by 23% over the last

financial year, despite the global economic challenges.

The Lotus Range Extender engine that we are showing today is a great

example of this expertise. This 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder engine has been designed

and optimized specifically for series hybrids.

True to Lotus, it combines innovation and simplicity of design with its

aluminium monoblock construction which integrates the cylinder block, the

cylinder head and exhaust manifold in one casting, resulting in reduced mass,

assembly costs and package size as well as improvements in durability and

emissions.

It can run on gasoline or sustainable alcohol fuels and weighs just 56 kilos.

You may ask 'When will it be available?' Well, everything that you see on this

novel engine has been designed to offer a fast route to market for vehicle

manufacturers wanting to source a dedicated range extender for series hybrid

vehicles.

The Lotus Range Extender will be first showcased in the Limo Green project

which is funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board, targeting less than 120

g/km CO2 emissions in a large, executive saloon.

This engine and all the cars that we are revealing here today reflect our sense

of engineering creativity, our brand values and the demands of the market,

current and future.

And, because these brand values grew from motor racing, we are delighted to

announce today our return to the global motorsport arena.

Firstly, Lotus and F1. A Malaysian-led initiative, championed by Proton, is

entering the F1 arena. Details are still being finalised, with more

announcements to come, but we are all very excited by this news.

Secondly, Lotus will be competing in a number of global endurance racing

events in 2010/11. Endurance racing is the arena where the combination of

performance and efficiency really counts and another area where we know the

Lotus Evora will be a class leader.