It will also reportedly increase its 51 percent stake in Lotus with its Malaysian partner Etika Automotive, which holds the remaining 49 percent stake. “Geely is fully committed to restoring Lotus into being a leading global luxury brand,” the company responded in a statement when asked about the investment but refused to comment further.
Geely plans to use the investment to expand Lotus’s Hethel plant in the UK by hiring 200 new engineers, according to one of the sources. It then plans to set up a second factory in the UK, possibly in the West Midlands, to increase production and add a new design and innovation center possibly in Coventry, UK. In addition, Geely has already committed to building a new Lotus factory in China. In the long-term, it’s believed that Geely wants to position Lotus as a luxury brand to that competes with Porsche and Ferrari.