Matt Windle leaves Lotus

I know this was covered as an update to the thread titled “Matt Windle Promoted,” but easy to miss there, and seems significant enough to deserve its own thread.

Exclusive: Lotus to name new Europe head following shock departure of boss after just few months in post | Autocar

Company's Chinese HQ takes a tighter rein as Europe boss Matt Windle steps down after four months

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[shinoo]

+1 for Canada.... Lotus should move manufacturing to here instead of US. We have all the resources to build EV's! At least we can say it stays in the Commonwealth! MultiMatic also worked on the suspension for Evija....

From my understanding Multimatic is pretty much the new Lotus as they work with many OEM's for performance and suspension. - https://www.multimatic.com/

Would be something else if they ventured off and created their own brand, just like Lotus - The Canadian Lotus!

Yes, MM are an excellent company with superb carbon fiber tech/capability and suspension tech. Those DSSV can be found in many cool cars including: FordGT, Purosangue, Colorado Bison, Miata Cup, etc. They are the most sophisticated mechanical shocks out there. MM has supported several OE efforts.

 

[geoffbland]

Related to this an interesting piece on the decline and future of the UK car industry on the BBC website today: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23p028p200o

 

[jve]

I know this was covered as an update to the thread titled “Matt Windle Promoted,” but easy to miss there, and seems significant enough to deserve its own thread.

Exclusive: Lotus to name new Europe head following shock departure of boss after just few months in post | Autocar

Company's Chinese HQ takes a tighter rein as Europe boss Matt Windle steps down after four months

www.autocar.co.uk

Have to say that I found Matt Windle very helpful in trying to sort the problems with my Emira.

 

[kitkat]

Have to say that I found Matt Windle very helpful in trying to sort the problems with my Emira.

Slightly different take for me — that’s more damning of the leadership if the head of Lotus Cars has to get involved to fix individual cars.

 

[Orchardbike]

Slightly different take for me — that’s more damning of the leadership if the head of Lotus Cars has to get involved to fix individual cars.

Have to say that I found Matt Windle very helpful in trying to sort the problems with my Emira.

I have the opposite experience. Matt Windle wasn’t interested. He ignored 3 registered letters. He ignored more than 6 emails, he ignored 3 phone calls and answer-home messages.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

he ignored 3 phone calls and answer-home messages.

You called his home phone?!

 

[Orchardbike]

You called his home phone?!

Typo! But I would have done if I had the number!

 

[JimH]

Posted today on LinkedIn - confirmed by the man himself now....

 

[SimonT]

Posted today on LinkedIn - confirmed by the man himself now....

View attachment 72439

He's taken the decision.

 

[EspritGuy]

He's taken the decision.

The Lotus 'last edition' discussion just took a new furn.
Driven out....

 

[Porter]

Direct link....

After a period of reflection and contemplation I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my roles at Lotus. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone I have worked… | Matt Windle | 76 comments

After a period of reflection and contemplation I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my roles at Lotus. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone I have worked with over the last eight and a half years, from customers to dealers, suppliers, media and...

www.linkedin.com

 

[shinoo]

This was a tough role for any exec. I met Matt at the Emira launch at Galpin Lotus. I wish him well in his future pursuits.

I think automotive manufacturing in England, for 'volume' sportscars, is coming to an end. They are simply rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic, IMHO. To most people's horror, Geely would be better off moving all production of 'affordable' sportscars to a region of the world that is growing. There are 600 million middle-class folks, with aspirational desires, in China and India. Affordable sportscars are a thing they want. If the Lotus brand is to continue, they need to move towards unsaturated markets that are still growing. Geely have production capacity in China that is vastly underutilized. And possibly in South Carolina?

Developed markets, like the US and Eurozone, are more and more constrained by regulatory requirements and consumer demands for quality/price. Profit margins are terrible as a result. Plus the flood of great sporstcars these last 20 yrs has met the demand and the future natural take rate will not be as healthy. We've enjoyed an unprecedented selection of great sportscars - it has NEVER been better.

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion but it comes from an person with 40yrs of direct experience in this insanely competitive industry. I've been a direct participant with an insider's view of this industry's machinations. I would rather see Lotus survive than see it go the way of other storied brands(SAAB, Pontiac, etc.).

Some consolidation is in order for the auto industry and those that start now, will have a fighting chance to survive.

 

[SimonT]

This was a tough role for any exec. I met Matt at the Emira launch at Galpin Lotus. I wish him well in his future pursuits.

I think automotive manufacturing in England, for 'volume' sportscars, is coming to an end. They are simply rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic, IMHO. To most people's horror, Geely would be better off moving all production of 'affordable' sportscars to a region of the world that is growing. There are 600 million middle-class folks, with aspirational desires, in China and India. Affordable sportscars are a thing they want. If the Lotus brand is to continue, they need to move towards unsaturated markets that are still growing. Geely have production capacity in China that is vastly underutilized. And possibly in South Carolina?

Developed markets, like the US and Eurozone, are more and more constrained by regulatory requirements and consumer demands for quality/price. Profit margins are terrible as a result. Plus the flood of great sporstcars these last 20 yrs has met the demand and the future natural take rate will not be as healthy. We've enjoyed an unprecedented selection of great sportscars - it has NEVER been better.

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion but it comes from an person with 40yrs of direct experience in this insanely competitive industry. I've been a direct participant with an insider's view of this industry's machinations. I would rather see Lotus survive than see it go the way of other storied brands(SAAB, Pontiac, etc.).

Some consolidation is in order for the auto industry and those that start now, will have a fighting chance to survive.

I think it will be the way to go for large number of companies. MG folded years ago and were bought by SAIC, they kept the UK design team and are doing pretty well here in the UK. That they can produce a roadster that is as striking as the Emira, faster and 30% cheaper points to everything you said. Yes it's electric, but we will eventually be forced to accept that the combustion engine is near end of life for most cars.

The Cyberster is pretty good for a 1st try from the Chinese manufacturer.

 

[Eagle7]

Direct link....

After a period of reflection and contemplation I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my roles at Lotus. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone I have worked… | Matt Windle | 76 comments

After a period of reflection and contemplation I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my roles at Lotus. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone I have worked with over the last eight and a half years, from customers to dealers, suppliers, media and...

www.linkedin.com

This is so sad to me. I know there are people who think poorly of him, but none of us know what he had to go through to get the Emira from a drawing on paper, into the most successful production car Lotus has ever produced. I for one am very glad he did, and consider myself fortunate to own one of these beauties. I wish him the best in whatever he winds up doing.

 

[seriously]

The Cyberster is pretty good for a 1st try from the Chinese manufacturer.

While not perfect the cyberster is really impressive.

 

[shinoo]

...they kept the UK design team and are doing pretty well here in the UK...

I think this is key. Hopefully Lotus keep their design team in the UK and shift production elswhere...

 

[Jinba ittai]

I think this is key. Hopefully Lotus keep their design team in the UK and shift production elswhere...

Yes, design is one thing they do very well. While Lotus can be challenging, I love this car. Would be a shame to lose the team that developed it.

 

[freefall_junkie]

This is so sad to me. I know there are people who think poorly of him, but none of us know what he had to go through to get the Emira from a drawing on paper, into the most successful production car Lotus has ever produced. I for one am very glad he did, and consider myself fortunate to own one of these beauties. I wish him the best in whatever he winds up doing.

Best selling Lotus production car, yes. Successful? Well the 550 staff they have just laid off from Hethel probably wouldn't agree, neither would the shareholders who have seen an operating loss of £195 million in H1 2025. The design and engineering team came up with a great car in the Emira, and it should have been a roaring success for Lotus, but somehow the management under MW turned it into a financial failure. The huge warranty costs alone have probably killed off any profit from the first couple of years of production. With new sales having slowed to a trickle (just 891 sold globally in H1 2025) and the Hethel factory now running well below capacity, it is really hard to see how Lotus is ever going to make money on the Emira

 

[jve]

Yes, its a great shame what has happened to Lotus and why Emira sales are so low. As for Matt, he was very helpful in trying to resolve all the problems I had with my Emira, you could say he went the extra mile. Many CEO's would not get personally involved or take much, if any, interest in dealing with individual customers. I think Matt had the right ethics, attitude and understanding, he also developed a great team around him. So, I hope he finds a company who appreciate his talents.
J.E.

 

[Eagle7]

Best selling Lotus production car, yes. Successful? Well the 550 staff they have just laid off from Hethel probably wouldn't agree, neither would the shareholders who have seen an operating loss of £195 million in H1 2025. The design and engineering team came up with a great car in the Emira, and it should have been a roaring success for Lotus, but somehow the management under MW turned it into a financial failure. The huge warranty costs alone have probably killed off any profit from the first couple of years of production. With new sales having slowed to a trickle (just 891 sold globally in H1 2025) and the Hethel factory now running well below capacity, it is really hard to see how Lotus is ever going to make money on the Emira

This is rather disingenuous considering we don't know how many of the decisions were his, versus orders he was given from above. There's also the fact that the EV debacle (which was not his decision or doing) hammered Lotus badly, as it did all major auto companies. The future of Lotus depends on how much money Geely wants to put into it, and what the plan is going forward. It's very nearly the same dilemma Alfa Romeo is in. Two great, historic marques that would be a shame to see fall by the wayside.