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

 

[Nick in Sydney]

They tried to give the Brits a chance.... not sure if you noticed, but it hasn't exactly gone smoothly.

This is not fair or accurate. Big picture: Emira has sold pretty damn well, and almost certainly better than Lotus expected. The real issue is a misguided strategy out of China: shift to 100% EV as quickly as possible, build two hulking luxury EVs that no one wants to buy, piss away several billion in the process.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

I guess I look at it a bit differently. I felt the Vision 80 was led by the British team and funded / approved by Geely - Peter Horbury (RIP) led design on the EV's, Windle executed Emira manufacturing setup, Mike Johnstone set up the commercial and sales aspect world wide (perhaps the biggest fail). Phil Popham was the person who started Vision 80 and EV only idea - including overseeing / sign off on Evija. Richard Moore from Lotus Engineering designed most of the architecture used in the EV's (based on existing Geely archtecture). Geoff Dowding: Global Director of Sales & Aftersales. Geely was the money and certainly placed the CEO to oversee that it was being spent correctly.

When you dive into the key players of Vision 80 and who was at the helm, it certainly paints a different picture than "blame the Chinese". Remember, when these ideas were launched the world was a different place and if you weren't going to compete in the EV space, your brand was over. Things have changed obviously.... and here we are. How many of the names are left from Vision 80? Probably not many...

This quote from 2018 is ironic, given what happened over the years that followed:

Popham is drawn to the luxury market and understands that such products must be managed carefully. “First and foremost, get your product offering and positioning right,” he said. “Lotus is a performance brand and our positioning is that we are for the drivers. Part of getting it right is understanding your customers and listening to what they tell you.”

 

[anshumanoz]

This is not fair or accurate. Big picture: Emira has sold pretty damn well, and almost certainly better than Lotus expected. The real issue is a misguided strategy out of China: shift to 100% EV as quickly as possible, build two hulking luxury EVs that no one wants to buy, piss away several billion in the process.

This narrative about whether “china” or the head office is wrong or whether the locals in UK are at fault is reductive at best. Lotus wasn’t doing well before Geely got involved and it isn’t doing too well now either.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

This narrative about whether “china” or the head office is wrong or whether the locals in UK are at fault is reductive at best. Lotus wasn’t doing well before Geely got involved and it isn’t doing too well now either.

But I think the valid point is that people who point to Emira as "the reason Lotus is in trouble" are missing the big picture. Emira isn't the problem, they didn't burn $2BN+ on Emira.

 

[anshumanoz]

But I think the valid point is that people who point to Emira as "the reason Lotus is in trouble" are missing the big picture. Emira isn't the problem, they didn't burn $2BN+ on Emira.

Agree. The emira isn’t the problem. It’s an amazing car and the only one I’d buy right now.

But the problems are everything to do with what surrounds the car. A good product isn’t enough - sales, service, quality etc is where they are deficient. And add that to the two SUVs that haven’t “elctrified” the market, heads have to roll - either at the head office or is subsidiaries.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Mao Jingbo – Profile & Career Background​

1. Early Career in Luxury Automotives​

• Spent approximately two decades in the luxury automotive sector in China.
• Held senior roles at Mercedes-Benz China, including:
  • Executive Vice President, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co.
  • General Manager, North Region.
  • Vice President of Marketing, Mercedes-Benz (China).

2. Leadership at Lincoln Asia Pacific & China (2018–2022)​

• Appointed President of Lincoln Asia Pacific and China in July 2018.
• Led sales operations and brand growth, implementing local production.
• Under her leadership, Lincoln’s annual sales increased from 55,315 units in 2018 to over 91,620 units, supported by local manufacturing initiatives.

3. Transition to Lotus (Nov 2022–Mar 2025)​

• Joined Lotus in November 2022 as Founding Partner and President of Lotus China.
• Reported directly to Lotus Group CEO Feng Qingfeng.
• Oversaw brand elevation in the high-end EV market.
• Directed the opening of major Lotus “Experience Stores” in Guangzhou and Beijing, combining sales, delivery, and brand lounge functions.

4. Current Role – Global Chief Sales Officer (Mar 2025–Present)​

• Appointed Global Chief Sales Officer of Lotus Technology in March 2025.
• Oversees:
  • Global production strategy.
  • Sales coordination across all regions.
  • Marketing resource integration for international operations.
• Plays a pivotal role in aligning Lotus’s global strategy under Geely ownership.

5. Corporate Recognition​

• Listed in The Official Board’s organisation chart as CSO of Group Lotus.
• Recognised for her strategic focus on premium positioning and rapid retail expansion in China.

 

[Lotustoronto]

This is not fair or accurate. Big picture: Emira has sold pretty damn well, and almost certainly better than Lotus expected. The real issue is a misguided strategy out of China: shift to 100% EV as quickly as possible, build two hulking luxury EVs that no one wants to buy, piss away several billion in the process.

I think you may have missed my point - It was the Brits that created Vision 80 in 2018 (Mao was still working at Lincoln for another 5 years), they were in charge of implementing the strategies, sales, CS, after sales support, dealer networks, marketing and design etc. Geely was primarily was there to set up Chinese manufacturing and money.

Emira is a great sports car. We all know Lotus can build a good lightweight analogue sports car. Every manufacturer was making the pivot and they still are trying to compete in the EV segment which has been extremely difficult. Many have delayed or in some cases canceled their up coming EV's. The difference is that most had ICE cars to sell, Lotus never did. (SUV's)

Eletre does a better job at being a performance EV SUV against the competition, than the Emira does at being a sports car against the same competiton.

People just don't want the Eletre to be a Lotus.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

I think you may have missed my point - It was the Brits that created Vision 80 in 2018 (Mao was still working at Lincoln for another 5 years)

Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that Mao created Vision 80. She is apparently taking over Matt's role, so I thought people might be interested in her background.

I totally agree that the Brits led the implementation of Vision 80, but I suspect Phil Popham was hired with clear instructions from Geely: "put together a plan for a luxury EV business, with vehicles to be built in China, that leverages the Lotus brand and its performance DNA."