Lotus plans to build SUV in China for Europe, possibly U.S.
British sports car maker Lotus Cars plans to build its first SUV in China and export it to Europe and possibly the United States.
Lotus aims to launch the SUV in 2019. It will compete against vehicles such as the Porsche Macan, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales told Automotive News Europe.
Lotus' parent company, Proton Holdings, which is owned by Malaysia's DRB-Hicom Group, said on April 17 that it had signed a joint venture agreement with China's Goldstar Heavy Industrial to produce Lotus cars in China's Fujian province.
Gales said Lotus will build a prototype of the SUV in the next 12 months to help the joint venture secure a license to manufacture cars in China.
The new car would respect the Lotus tradition of lightweight, dynamically capable cars. "All SUVs are big and fairly heavy," Gales said. "We want to build a car that is lighter and faster -- a true Lotus."
The SUV will be built on a platform created with Proton using a mix of steel and aluminum. The target weight is more than 220 pounds below potential competitors such as the Macan and Audi Q5. The car will be priced slightly lower than the Macan and likely will have a hybrid powertrain.
Gales said Lotus aims to sell more than 5,000 SUVs, boosting the automaker's overall global sales to 10,000 units annually by 2020. The car will be exported from China to Europe and various Asian markets.
Sales in the United States aren't certain. "We're not yet sure," Gales said. "It depends on federalization and whether we can do it easily."
In the last financial year ending March, Lotus sales rose 55 percent to just over 2,000 cars. If the China venture meets planning targets, Lotus may build additional models in the country.
Sports car production will remain at Lotus's plant in Hethel, eastern England, Gales said.
Capital for the new model has come from Proton, Gales said, without offering details. "This car is feasible within our budget limits," he said.
In 2006, Proton tried to terminate an earlier joint venture with Goldstar after it failed to get a car-making license in China. This time, Gales said, the central government is making positive signs that a manufacturing license will be granted.
China is set to become the world's biggest SUV market by 2020, Gales said. In the first quarter, SUV sales there were up 49 percent to 1.3 million units, accounting for almost a quarter of passenger vehicle sales in the country, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Lotus' parent company, Proton Holdings, which is owned by Malaysia's DRB-Hicom Group, said on April 17 that it had signed a joint venture agreement with China's Goldstar Heavy Industrial to produce Lotus cars in China's Fujian province.
Gales said Lotus will build a prototype of the SUV in the next 12 months to help the joint venture secure a license to manufacture cars in China.
The new car would respect the Lotus tradition of lightweight, dynamically capable cars. "All SUVs are big and fairly heavy," Gales said. "We want to build a car that is lighter and faster -- a true Lotus."
The SUV will be built on a platform created with Proton using a mix of steel and aluminum. The target weight is more than 220 pounds below potential competitors such as the Macan and Audi Q5. The car will be priced slightly lower than the Macan and likely will have a hybrid powertrain.
Gales said Lotus aims to sell more than 5,000 SUVs, boosting the automaker's overall global sales to 10,000 units annually by 2020. The car will be exported from China to Europe and various Asian markets.
Sales in the United States aren't certain. "We're not yet sure," Gales said. "It depends on federalization and whether we can do it easily."
In the last financial year ending March, Lotus sales rose 55 percent to just over 2,000 cars. If the China venture meets planning targets, Lotus may build additional models in the country.
Sports car production will remain at Lotus's plant in Hethel, eastern England, Gales said.
Capital for the new model has come from Proton, Gales said, without offering details. "This car is feasible within our budget limits," he said.
In 2006, Proton tried to terminate an earlier joint venture with Goldstar after it failed to get a car-making license in China. This time, Gales said, the central government is making positive signs that a manufacturing license will be granted.
China is set to become the world's biggest SUV market by 2020, Gales said. In the first quarter, SUV sales there were up 49 percent to 1.3 million units, accounting for almost a quarter of passenger vehicle sales in the country, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
