As what we were warning since February, the car manufacturer is chinese Geely has purchased a majority stake of the shares of Lotus and therefore takes control of the English brand. This movement adding to the list of companies accumulated by the chinese giant, which already owns Lynk & Co, and Volvo.
The number of shares acquired by Geely rises to 51%, while 49% is in the hands of Etika, a group car of Malaysia. This acquisition by Geely is done with the control of Lotus is part of an agreement announced in may between chinese house and the former owner of Lotus, Proton, which means that along with a majority stake in Lotus, Geely also owns a stake of 49% in Proton.
Changes in Lotus after the purchase of Geely
The head of Lotus Jean-Marc Wales will still be at the helm of the company, although there will be a significant changes in other senior positions, which will come from the chinese company. The chief financial officer of Geely, Daniel Donghui Li, the chairman of the board of shareholders and the chief technology Feng Qing Feng, and the vice president of international business Nathan Yu Ning also sit at the table.
During the announcement of the purchase by the Geely is done with the control of Lotus, the new chairman of the board of shareholders, Donghui Li stated:
“With the completion of this transaction we look forward to working with our partners to convert Lotus brand on a globally competitive and a leader well recognized in the market of sports cars. We are very confident that Lotus will go beyond the expectations of the automotive industry and consumers, in the near future”.
future Prospects of Lotus
The president of Lotus, Jean-Marc Gales added:
“After this change, the Lotus brand has never been so strong and now we are perfectly prepared to grow. We are currently making the best cars in the history of the company and we are developing the next generation of sports cars of luxury that will continue to demonstrate the values of the brand: light weight, style and aerodynamics; thanks to the harnessing of the strengths and resources of Geely Holding global”.
The economic situation Lotus was already going up before the purchase of the shares by Geely. In the first half of 2017, Lotus achieved a positive balance thanks to the fact that sales increased by 10% compared to the first half of last year.
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