- Piccadilly store directly opposite iconic Ritz Hotel will open this autumn – the first of many in major world cities
- Two-storey site includes three-car showroom, the perfect shop window for Eletre, Emira and Evija
- Lotus Mayfair will serve as London home for Lotus Advanced Performance division
Hethel, UK – 28 April 2022 Many of the world’s best-known premium and luxury brands, automotive and beyond, have a retail presence in London’s upmarket Mayfair district. Later this year Lotus will join them.
The company is to open its first ever global store at 73 Piccadilly, on the corner of Berkeley Street and directly opposite one of the most famous buildings in the UK’s capital city – the iconic Ritz Hotel. More such stores are planned for major cities around the world.
Currently under construction, the all-new Lotus store’s prime position makes it the perfect location to offer direct sales of Lotus cars to customers. As a brand beacon it will boast more than 450m2 of stunning retail space over two floors and serve as the perfect shop window for the Eletre hyper-SUV, the Emira sports car and the Evija hypercar.
The ground floor has space to show three Lotus cars in a spectacular environment and will include a full Lotus merchandise retail outlet. Below will be a VIP lounge for visiting customers – existing or future – and a full Lotus digital configuration suite. The store will also provide a discreet London home for clients of Lotus Advanced Performance, the bespoke and experiential division of the business launched earlier this year.
The store will open in the autumn with a launch event, celebrating the latest milestone in the ongoing transformation of Lotus from a UK sports car company to a global performance business and brand.
Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, Lotus, commented: “This flagship facility will allow anyone to see our exciting three-car range, understand our brand, speak with a Lotus Expert, configure a car using state-of-the-art digital e-commerce technology and even reserve it through our recently launched e-commerce platform.”
He added: “As this is the first of our global stores and as it’s in the very centre of London, we fully expect Lotus Mayfair to attract many visitors from around the world. As such, it will play host to some of the most amazing Lotus cars from today and yesterday – including from our legendary racing past – as well as a packed calendar of events at the store.”
News of the forthcoming Lotus Mayfair store was shared earlier this week with more than 300 representatives of the Lotus international network at the brand’s first Global Retailer Conference since the launch of the Vision80 strategy to transform the business and brand. Staged at Hethel, UK – the home of Lotus since 1966 – to showcase the Norfolk site’s £100million redevelopment, VIP guests had travelled from as far away as New Zealand and Hawaii for a deep dive into the future of Lotus. They were among the first in the world to drive the critically acclaimed Emira, the last petrol-powered car from Lotus, and were given a thrilling glimpse of exciting new products to be launched in the coming months.
Ends
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact the Lotus Communications team:
James Andrew, Executive Director, PR and Communications
+44 (0) 7384 830903
Rob Borrett, Head of Media and Launch Programmes
+44 (0) 7718 560789
Richard Yarrow, Head of News and Technology Communications
+44 (0) 7471 994525
Alastair Florance, PR Manager, News and Technology
+ 44 (0) 7802 918662
Samantha Thomas, PR Officer, Product Press and Digital Media
+44 (0) 7909 813785
The Lotus media site – https://media.lotuscars.com – contains news, images, specifications and full details of current models, as well as heritage cars and engineering technology.
For the latest news and information from the Lotus PR Team please follow:
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About Lotus
Lotus Cars is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, and is the global HQ for sports car and hypercar manufacturing operations, Lotus Advanced Performance and the iconic 2.2-mile test track. Lotus Cars builds world-class high-performance cars, born out of legendary success on the racetrack including 13 FIA Formula 1 world titles and many other championship honours. In July 2021 Lotus unveiled the all-new Lotus Emira, its last petrol-powered sports car and best-of-breed, and in July 2019 it launched the Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. Customer deliveries of both cars will begin during 2022. In March 2022 Lotus revealed the Eletre, the world’s first all-electric hyper-SUV. Customer deliveries will begin in 2023. The Lotus Type 135, an all-electric sports car, is currently being designed and engineered at Hethel.
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive consultancy services to many of the world’s OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. It is internationally recognised for its long-standing contribution to ground-breaking engineering and innovative vehicle development. Its expertise extends beyond automotive; in August 2021 a Lotus Engineering-developed track bike helped Team GB’s cyclists win seven medals, including three golds, at the Tokyo Olympics. An international consultancy with offices around the world, Lotus Engineering is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre on the University of Warwick’s Wellesbourne Campus in the UK.
Lotus Tech is an affiliate company of Group Lotus, established as part of the Vision80 strategy established in 2018. With operational assets across China, the UK and Europe, Lotus Tech is dedicated to delivering smart lifestyle battery electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the Eletre. Lotus Tech is focused on R&D in next-generation automobility technologies such as electrification, digitalisation and more. In addition to the Lotus Eletre, Lotus Tech plans to launch further BEV models including a sports sedan (Type 133) another SUV (Type 134) and more, as Vision80 reaches maturity in 2028.
Group Lotus is either the parent company of or affiliated with the above. In 2017, Geely Holding Group, one of the fastest growing automotive group in the world, acquired a 51% stake in Group Lotus. The other 49% is owned by Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate.