Lotus may move UK production to the US

Lotus UK has been told by Chinese owners that it needs to prepare for the end of production at Hethel and instead build cars in its biggest market, the US. However, there are reports that the UK government may offer support to keep the brand alive in Britain.

Production of the Emira, the plant’s main model, has stopped since mid-May while Trump’s tariff situation is sorted.

Lotus has said on social media that “the UK is the heart of the Lotus brand” and that there are no plans to close any factory.

It is also home to the global design centre, motorsport operations and Lotus Engineering. On the other hand, it says the firm is  “actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in an evolving market.”

The government evidently met with Lotus management over the weekend. 

The proposal to build its cars in the US is to circumvent tariff barriers. Lotus CEO, Feng Qingfeng, has recently said that localisation is feasible. “We are trying to leverage our US strategy to catch up the losses due to the tariff hike.” 

Read our review of Lotus Emira V6.

It may come to pass that Lotus builds the Emira in Volvo’s under-utilised plant in South Carolina. Volvo is another of Geely’s brands.

Lotus is working hard to reduce costs amid ongoing losses. The company recently shed 270 workers at Hethel. It may also close its Clerkenwell headquarters that only opened recently. The brand’s highbrow Park Lane store has gone to another group in a further cost-cutting move.

Lotus sales fell 42 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, marking the first big decline since Geely rolled out its electric Emeya sedan and Eletre SUV.

Geely bought the brand in 2017 from the firm that owns Proton, but has yet to see a return on its investment. Lotus posted a net loss of $183 million in the first quarter while debts increased to $3.3b.

The decision to go premium electric in its niche sports car area hasn’t paid off. Huge US tariffs mean Lotus can no longer sell Eletre in the US. Demand has also fallen in Europe and China, with deliveries down by 31 per cent to 719 in the first three months of 2025.

Hybrid hopes

Lotus hopes to turn things around with its Hyper Hybrid PHEV sports cars. The first Lotus plug-in hybrid will be the Eletre and will go on sale early next year in China.

An electric sports car out of Hethel is now on hold indefinitely. Meantime, Lotus has been pushing Geely to expand production in the Hethel plant which is underutilised. Lotus suggests building the Polestar 6 electric roadster there. At present, it’s only ICE power product coming out of Hethel, and that may be one reason Geely was keen to shut up shop in the UK. 

Things are different across the Atlantic where combustion cars still rule the roads. Lotus is currently considering a V8 option for Emira, yet another reason to relocate Stateside. 

The reset at Lotus has not gone according to plan. It was aiming to build 150,000 cars per annum by 2028, with a Macan rival (Type 134) accounting for most of the sales. But that is now on hold with the EV slowdown. Deliveries last year reached 12,134.

The UK government has plans to grow the car industry so a shutdown at the outset wouldn’t look good, especially after Geely invested £100 million in the site to build Emira. 

One former Lotus executive called plans for closure “a disgrace”.