Lotus Cars
Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars, and doing business as Lotus NYO in China) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric lifestyle vehicles.
Lotus logo (2019) | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founder | Colin Chapman |
| Headquarters | Hethel, Norfolk , England, UK |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 867 units (2022) |
| Revenue | £56 million (2022) |
Number of employees | 1,385 (2021) |
| Parent | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group(51%) Etika Automotive (49%) |
| Website | lotuscars |
Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is based in Hethel, Norfolk. Lotus Tech, an all-electric lifestyle vehicle company, headquartered in Wuhan, China, and operates regional facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Additionally, Lotus Engineering, an engineering consultancy firm, is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) located at the University of Warwick's Wellesbourne Campus.
Lotus was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors, then Romano Artioli, and then DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton, who owned Lotus from 1996 to 2017. Lotus is currently majority owned by Chinese multinational Geely.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Notable Lotus cars include the Lotus Seven, the Elan, the Esprit, and the Elise.