It's Official: Lotus Has Been Bought By Volvo's Chinese Owners

The endless stream of lightly tweaked cars from Lotus should soon start to ease off in lieu of some actual new products. Why? Because Geely’s acquisition of a controlling majority stake in Hethel is now complete.

As anticipated, the Chinese automotive giant has acquired 51 per cent of the sports car firm, and 49 per cent of Malaysian company Proton - owners of Lotus since 1996.

It’s a big deal because we’ve all seen the turnaround Volvo has experienced under Geely. In a relatively short space of time Volvo has replaced the majority of its ageing line-up with genuinely good, refreshingly different cars like the S90 and the new XC60.

Under the control of CEO Jean-Marc Gales Lotus’ financial state has been dramatically improved, with sales up 57 per cent and the company turning a healthy profit. It hasn’t released a properly new car in years however, but with the financial might of Geely at the top, that should change.

Speaking about the completed acquisition, Geely chief financial officer Donghui Li said “With the transaction completion we now look forward to working with our partners to develop the Lotus brand into a globally competitive brand and a well-recognised leader in the sports car market.”

We can’t wait to see what comes next.