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Ever since Malaysian industrial giant Proton purchased Lotus (back in 1996) the legendary performance car manufacturer, founded by design genius Colin Chapman, has struggled to financially justify its existence.
Despite offering a truly unique driving experience, thanks to an unwavering commitment to the late Chapman’s design mantra of ‘performance through lightness’, Lotus only sells a little over 2 000 cars per year.
Although customer satisfaction remains excellent, Lotus’ product portfolio caters to a market of hardcore trackday enthusiasts who remain, unfortunately, a rather niche market. If Lotus is to achieve sustainable profitability, it needs to offer performance car enthusiasts something more upmarket.
Proton (and by implication Lotus) Chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh has said Hethel needs to be selling between 6 000 and 8 000 units annually within five years to present a justifiable business case for itself.
To ensure Lotus effectively more than doubles its sales volume, the company needs to net new customers by offering a portfolio of more ‘accessible’ performance cars. The company’s Evora is more in line with future product planning.
An Esprit revival?
Lotus has announced it will showcase a ‘new dawn’ at the Paris Motor Show, which industry analysts are decoding as the revival of its Esprit nameplate.
Lotus’ pseudo-luxury performance car was discontinued back in 2004, after an amazing 28-year production run. Salleh says the proposed upmarket Lotus offering should retail in a price bracket of between £80 000-£110 000, essentially uncharted territory for Hethel’s traditionally minimalist models.
To justify such a premium pricing strategy the new Lotus (which may revive the Esprit moniker) should feature a seven ratio twin-clutch transmission, adjustable aerodynamics and active dampers. For a company which begrudgingly added traction control to its cars only four years ago (and considers ESP engineering heresy), this new design direction is set to be a brave new venture.
Lotus has remained fanatically committed to Colin Chapman’s design heritage of simple solutions since his death in 1982. In order to sell 8 000 units a year the chemically bonded chassis genius and lightweight materials of the current range of cars will have to make way for contemporary production methods and more traditional design.
New goals, new staff
The erstwhile Esprit’s atrocious packaging is a mistake Lotus can ill afford if it aims to compete with Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. To this end the company has made some strategic staffing changes.
Lotus’ new CEO, Dany Bahar, and design boss, Donato Coco, are former Ferrari employees. The man responsible for increasing Lotus’ marketing and retail presence from 30 to 55 countries is Andreas Schlegel, who used to be Aston Martin’s marketing and network specialist. Ensuring the requisite quality – especially in terms of cabin trim and acoustic insulation – is achieved will be Frank Tuch, who was director of quality management at Porsche.
Brand neutral performance car enthusiasts will sincerely hope Lotus achieves its sales targets before Proton’s patience wears out. Whether shunning the company’s traditional ‘performance through lightness’ principles attract more customers than it alienates remains to be seen.
Despite offering a truly unique driving experience, thanks to an unwavering commitment to the late Chapman’s design mantra of ‘performance through lightness’, Lotus only sells a little over 2 000 cars per year.
Although customer satisfaction remains excellent, Lotus’ product portfolio caters to a market of hardcore trackday enthusiasts who remain, unfortunately, a rather niche market. If Lotus is to achieve sustainable profitability, it needs to offer performance car enthusiasts something more upmarket.
Proton (and by implication Lotus) Chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh has said Hethel needs to be selling between 6 000 and 8 000 units annually within five years to present a justifiable business case for itself.
To ensure Lotus effectively more than doubles its sales volume, the company needs to net new customers by offering a portfolio of more ‘accessible’ performance cars. The company’s Evora is more in line with future product planning.
An Esprit revival?
Lotus has announced it will showcase a ‘new dawn’ at the Paris Motor Show, which industry analysts are decoding as the revival of its Esprit nameplate.
Lotus’ pseudo-luxury performance car was discontinued back in 2004, after an amazing 28-year production run. Salleh says the proposed upmarket Lotus offering should retail in a price bracket of between £80 000-£110 000, essentially uncharted territory for Hethel’s traditionally minimalist models.
To justify such a premium pricing strategy the new Lotus (which may revive the Esprit moniker) should feature a seven ratio twin-clutch transmission, adjustable aerodynamics and active dampers. For a company which begrudgingly added traction control to its cars only four years ago (and considers ESP engineering heresy), this new design direction is set to be a brave new venture.
Lotus has remained fanatically committed to Colin Chapman’s design heritage of simple solutions since his death in 1982. In order to sell 8 000 units a year the chemically bonded chassis genius and lightweight materials of the current range of cars will have to make way for contemporary production methods and more traditional design.
New goals, new staff
The erstwhile Esprit’s atrocious packaging is a mistake Lotus can ill afford if it aims to compete with Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. To this end the company has made some strategic staffing changes.
Lotus’ new CEO, Dany Bahar, and design boss, Donato Coco, are former Ferrari employees. The man responsible for increasing Lotus’ marketing and retail presence from 30 to 55 countries is Andreas Schlegel, who used to be Aston Martin’s marketing and network specialist. Ensuring the requisite quality – especially in terms of cabin trim and acoustic insulation – is achieved will be Frank Tuch, who was director of quality management at Porsche.
Brand neutral performance car enthusiasts will sincerely hope Lotus achieves its sales targets before Proton’s patience wears out. Whether shunning the company’s traditional ‘performance through lightness’ principles attract more customers than it alienates remains to be seen.
