Matt Windle promoted, says he wants to build more cars at Hethel

Hot off the presses!

Lotus has a new European boss – and he wants to build more cars at the firm's Norfolk factory | Autocar

Production at the brand's UK base could be broadened, says Matt Windle, potentially to include the Polestar 6

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[Lotustoronto]

Seems you know a lot more details than I do. However, I imagine that Geely funding came with some level of influence and I think I can see it in the Eletre and the Emeya execution. These vehicles are antithetical to everything Lotus has traditionally stood for. I agree the world was headed to EVs back then. I think the Evija did it in a way that respects the Lotus brand (hydraulics in the steering, conventional brakes, focus on dynamics) and I was optimistic that the Type 135 was going to as well. The Emeya and Eletre seem like they slapped a lotus logo on some other brand’s product.

I hear ya, and the EV’s aren’t very Lotus. But everyone does it. The Bentley Bentega / Porsche Cayene and Q7 are all a VW Touareg. I think the Lambo Urus is on the same platform with VW parts stamped all over.

 

[NJemira85]

My opinion is based on my experience as a frustrated buyer. I'm still waiting for my Emira, going on for 14 months now. I don't understand why UK was flooded with Emiras while the US supply is just a trickle. I don't work for Lotus but I think there were several buyers in the US who have orders but just walked away due to the long wait . This is lost opportunity for Lotus which was under Windle's leadership. Lotus, ship your darn cars to the US while people are still interested. Don't leave money on the table. I'm sure dealers are frustrated as well, having a list of eager customers but no cars to sell. Lotus, you have customers. Make them well and ship them fast.

There are lots of cars for sale in us. Just have one shipped to you

 

[NJemira85]

I hear ya, and the EV’s aren’t very Lotus. But everyone does it. The Bentley Bentega / Porsche Cayene and Q7 are all a VW Touareg. I think the Lambo Urus is on the same platform with VW parts stamped all over.

Yes lambo is same.

Ironically, the bentayga at least got its own unique engine (w12tt).

The rest all have identical v8

 

[Jinba ittai]

I hear ya, and the EV’s aren’t very Lotus. But everyone does it. The Bentley Bentega / Porsche Cayene and Q7 are all a VW Touareg. I think the Lambo Urus is on the same platform with VW parts stamped all over.

Yeah, but those are all commercial successes. There’s something different with Lotus. Lotus buyers are so fanatical about the driving experience they are willing to look past the dealer network, reliability, customer service, etc. If Lotus doesn’t deliver on the driving experience it’s the worst of all worlds.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Yeah, but those are all commercial successes. There’s something different with Lotus. Lotus buyers are so fanatical about the driving experience they are willing to look past the dealer network, reliability, customer service, etc. If Lotus doesn’t deliver on the driving experience it’s the worst of all worlds.

I think you just described the failure perfectly. Lotus buyers were slowly dwindling away and eventually the company would shut down making only small light weight sports cars. The biggest part to Vision 80 was expanding dealer network, working on reliability and fixing customer service to meet demand. That's why they hired so many new executives to make sure that got implemented. Each one of those executives failed to meet targets, and have either left or been fired. Geely looks as it is their fault, I'm sure the employees blame the parent company in lack of support. The answer is somewhere in the middle. Nonetheless, the guys in charge of fixing the problems you outlined ended up leaving and left a trail of chaos in its wake. Lotus must pivot into larger scale production with SUV's that sell or its dealer footprint will be severely reduced across the globe as who would want to take on a company that sells 1 vehicle? There needs to be a business case for dealer networks to come on board. People buy 911's because Macan buyers keep the dealership lights on. Porsche in 1990's was in the exact same predicament, only selling the 911 and about to go bankrupt. Porsche were sold at VW dealers back in the day. Without the pivot to VW based SUV's they would not be anywhere near as successful and it mirrors Lotus in so many ways.

Porsche sales numbers from the 1980's - a fraction of what it is today.

• 1980–1983 (estimate): ~6,000–7,000 units per year (based on milestone deductions)
• 1984: 13,428 units
• 1985: 11,859 units
• 1986: 15,120 units
• 1987: 14,472 units
• 1988: 12,641 units
• 1989: 12,863 units

Last thing I want to add... Lotus reminds me more of Maserati at the moment than Porsche of the 1990's. Mclaren IMO seems to be the one that is best positioned to evolve into a larger luxury focused brand. Time will tell.

 

[jbug187]

I think you just described the failure perfectly. Lotus buyers were slowly dwindling away and eventually the company would shut down making only small light weight sports cars. The biggest part to Vision 80 was expanding dealer network, working on reliability and fixing customer service to meet demand. That's why they hired so many new executives to make sure that got implemented. Each one of those executives failed to meet targets, and have either left or been fired. Geely looks as it is their fault, I'm sure the employees blame the parent company in lack of support. The answer is somewhere in the middle. Nonetheless, the guys in charge of fixing the problems you outlined ended up leaving and left a trail of chaos in its wake. Lotus must pivot into larger scale production with SUV's that sell or its dealer footprint will be severely reduced across the globe as who would want to take on a company that sells 1 vehicle? There needs to be a business case for dealer networks to come on board. People buy 911's because Macan buyers keep the dealership lights on. Porsche in 1990's was in the exact same predicament, only selling the 911 and about to go bankrupt. Porsche were sold at VW dealers back in the day. Without the pivot to VW based SUV's they would not be anywhere near as successful and it mirrors Lotus in so many ways.

Porsche sales numbers from the 1980's - a fraction of what it is today.

• 1980–1983 (estimate): ~6,000–7,000 units per year (based on milestone deductions)
• 1984: 13,428 units
• 1985: 11,859 units
• 1986: 15,120 units
• 1987: 14,472 units
• 1988: 12,641 units
• 1989: 12,863 units

Last thing I want to add... Lotus reminds me more of Maserati at the moment than Porsche of the 1990's. Mclaren IMO seems to be the one that is best positioned to evolve into a larger luxury focused brand. Time will tell.

Totally agree. I don't understand why the Lotus community is opposed to the brand selling SUVs and other "antithetical" cars. They will allow Lotus to enhance and provide more trims of the "halo" sports cars. On their own, lightweight, analog sports cars do not generate a profit so SUVs / sedans are a necessary evil if you want what's best for the brand.

 

[Jinba ittai]

Totally agree. I don't understand why the Lotus community is opposed to the brand selling SUVs and other "antithetical" cars. They will allow Lotus to enhance and provide more trims of the "halo" sports cars. On their own, lightweight, analog sports cars do not generate a profit so SUVs / sedans are a necessary evil if you want what's best for the brand.

I’m not against them selling SUVs and sedans. I get that’s where the money is. I just think Lotus SUVs and sedans should be the lightest and most engaging in the segment. The Eletre and Emeya might have done better if they stuck to that niche vs going head to head purely on luxury.

 

[Lotustoronto]

I’m not against them selling SUVs and sedans. I get that’s where the money is. I just think Lotus SUVs and sedans should be the lightest and most engaging in the segment. The Eletre and Emeya might have done better if they stuck to that niche vs going head to head purely on luxury.

Which European manufacturer makes the best/sportiest large EV only SUV in your opinion? There’s an argument for the new Macan 4 vs Base Eletre, but it’s much smaller than Eletre, less power and slower. Same price.

Oddly enough I can not find a Macan EV vs Lotus Eletre test anywhere..... very strange.

 

[Tomwa]

The problem with making a "Sporty SUV" is three fold.

One, you need engineers and designers in the space who knows what they are doing regarding SUVs.

Two, sporty means likely power, handling, and low weight. Can you really make a "good handling" SUV that now doesn't fail to do SUV things? Will it have AWD, will it have good ground clearance? Low weight also seems a challenging condition.

Three. Relative to question 2. If your purpose is to use the SUV for volume sales. Why does your new target audience care? If you are trying to convert "normal lotus drivers" into Lotus SUV drivers, this will likely work even less well than for Porsche. Which means you need a new consumer for Lotus vehicles that actually mostly doesn't care that much about problem 2.

 

[Jinba ittai]

The problem with making a "Sporty SUV" is three fold.

One, you need engineers and designers in the space who knows what they are doing regarding SUVs.

Two, sporty means likely power, handling, and low weight. Can you really make a "good handling" SUV that now doesn't fail to do SUV things? Will it have AWD, will it have good ground clearance? Low weight also seems a challenging condition.

Three. Relative to question 2. If your purpose is to use the SUV for volume sales. Why does your new target audience care? If you are trying to convert "normal lotus drivers" into Lotus SUV drivers, this will likely work even less well than for Porsche. Which means you need a new consumer for Lotus vehicles that actually mostly doesn't care that much about problem 2.

This is true. The priorities of SUV buyers don’t align well with lotus’ core competencies. It may not have worked out either way.

 

[Lotustoronto]

It really seems to me that Auto mag's and reviewers have sandbagged the Lotus Eletre. The only reviews I have found online is against a Urus in a drag test. A three way comparison with a Ferrari Purosangue and Bentley Bentayga. (none of these are other EV's) and Finally a test against Audi Q8 EV, which the Lotus won hands down. - Why is there no comparison test done for the following; (Macan EV is a segment lower, but in the correct price bracket considering options on top - weighs less due to size)

European Performance EV SUV Comparison – 2025 (Germany)

Model	Curb Weight (kg)	Power (PS)	0–100 km/h	Top Speed (km/h)	WLTP Range (km)	Max DC Charging (kW)	Price (Germany)
Lotus Eletre 600	2,565	612	4.5 s	258	600	350	€95,990
BMW iX M60	2,670	619	3.8 s	250	566	195	€143,100
Porsche Macan 4S EV	2,420	516	4.1 s	220	613	270	€90,700
Audi SQ8 e-tron	2,720	503	4.5 s	210	458	170	€97,800

When asking AI to compare and rank the EV SUV's here is the results;

Scoring Table (1–10 scale)​

Category	Lotus Eletre 600	BMW iX M60	Porsche Macan 4S EV	Audi SQ8 e-tron	Cadillac Lyriq Sport
Performance	8	9	8	7	7
Comfort	8	10	7	9	8
Technology	9	9	8	8	8
Practicality	10	8	7	8	8
Range	8	8	9	6	7
Charging	10	7	9	6	7
Price	7	4	10	8	8
Brand Prestige	7	9	10	8	6

---

Weighted Score Summary ​

Model	Weighted Score
Lotus Eletre 600	8.70
Porsche Macan 4S EV	8.48
BMW iX M60	7.97
Cadillac Lyriq Sport	7.24
Audi SQ8 e-tron	7.08