Lotus To Quit Malaysia

[Mark H]

http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus/12335.htm

 

Lotus to quit Malaysia

 

 

 

Slippery slope for Lotus?

 

Lotus is quitting Malaysia, according to a story in this week's Autocar. It had planned to build cars there in factories owned by parent company Proton but Hethel will now be Lotus' manufacturing base, where it has built its cars for the last 40 years.

 

Earlier this year, stories here on PistonHeads and elsewhere discussed the open secret that was the future GT, the Europa, and whether it would be made in Malaysia, along with a new alloy-bodied supercar to replace the Esprit. Instead, the company is packing up the jigs and other manufacturing equipment already in Malaysia, ready to be shipped home.

 

The announcement has raised speculation whether Proton plans to sell Lotus. Proton bought Lotus Cars in 1999, after having owned a part-share from 1996. Prior to that, Lotus was owned by ACBN Holdings of Luxembourg, controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli who also owned Bugatti Automobili. Artioli bought Lotus in 1993 from GM, which came into possession in 1986.

[Jonathan E]

"Hethel will now be Lotus' manufacturing base, where it has built its cars for the last 40 years".