Motoring purists will be up in arms, the once-holiest of British motor temples, Lotus, the very birthplace of the Elan, Evora, and Emira, where Formula One was transformed, the birthplace of legends, is currently lying eerily silent, its assembly lines gathering dust.
The reason? Their Chinese overlord, Geely the very same people that won the likes of Proton and Volvo, is contemplating pulling the plug on production in a knee-jerk reaction responding to the Trump administrations tariffs. According to a report carried by the Guardian Newspaper.
Now, before you reach for pitchforks and Union Jacks, let’s take a moment to reflect on this news. Lotus started their production hiatus (fancy word for pause) since mid-May, this is not due to a lack of confidence in its UK workforce, but because flooding American buyers with Emiras means getting slapped with an unpalatable 25 percent import tariff. That’s like paying for the car twice over.
The Geely overlords are now debating building Emiras in Americaland, possibly in Volvo’s vast South Carolina plant, to dodge the vile-tasting tariff pill.
These are grim times, Lotus has been at Hethel, a small town just south of Norwich in the UK’s fenlands, for over 70 years. At that site, over 1,300 jobs are hanging by a tariff-thin thread. Their financial figures have not been good, in fact they lost £103 million last quarter, and deliveries have plummeted 42 per cent, a corporate hangover from over-expansion and ill-timed electric SUV ambitions, which of course is something that even the likes of Mercedes and Audi regret.
Lotus say now just hang-on a minute, via their website has issued the classic “no plans to close” statement, huddling with the UK Business Secretary to promise it’s “committed” to Hethel. Which sounds like they are as safe as a football manager the day after the owner gives him a vote of confidence, or, about as reassuring as a Ryan Air Pilot whispering “oops” just after take-off.
I am darn sure that if Colin Chapman’s ghost could ascend from the accelerator-on-fire folly of history, he’d ask, “Is this bloody lotus or an overgrown tin can?” Producing mobile washing machines in Wuhan and then trying to call them British heritage sports cars is like frying a full English Breakfast in an air-fryer, technically possible, but everyone’s gagging.
Right now it’s a shot in the dark. UK tax reliefs kick tariffs back to 10 percent post-June, but the threat remains. Geely’s business brain says “Localise or perish,” but many of us still want Lotus to be as British as warm beer and mild disappointment.
Will Geely yank production? Maybe. Will Clarkson storm the gates in angry green rubber gloves? Absolutely. For now, though, this picturesque factory is in limbo—a luxury relic caught in a global chess game.
In Summary:
- Lotus production halted since mid-May, with 1,300 jobs at risk (theguardian.com)
- U.S. tariffs cited as the culprit, pushing talks of U.S. assembly (reddit.com)
- Financial losses mounting, output plummeting; yet Lotus claims UK commitment (ft.com)
It’s a feverish business scramble—and Clarkson-approved chaos, if ever there was one.
