Lotus opens hub of manufacturing expertise

Lotus has opened a performance hub to give other sports car manufacturers access to its facilities, expertise and knowledge to accelerate production and drive innovation.

The firm, based at Hethel in Norfolk, is hoping to bring together similar manufacturers and technology firms all under one roof.

It aims to promote partnership not competition with other companies and is already working with four partners.

Matt Nice, deputy managing director at Lotus Cars, said: "By creating an environment where partners can collaborate, develop and deliver side by side, we enable a faster, smarter way to innovate in a sector where traditional models often slow things down."

The hub aimed to give other manufacturers access to its designers, engineers, test track and other facilities.

Nice said it was about "unlocking the full potential" of the existing site.

"Everything is here to be a perfect incubator for partners to bring their concepts and ideas to production," he said.

He said the aim was to deliver products to market that would not directly compete with Lotus's own products.

Last summer, the manufacturer, also known for providing James Bond's underwater car in The Spy Who Loved Me movie, announced it would be axing 550 jobs to "secure a sustainable future" in a "rapidly evolving and uncertain automotive environment".

Nice said: "The production rate is on target, we have very stable, efficient production, the staff here are doing a fantastic job to deliver that.

"There are no plans to reduce that [staff] further and we remain very comfortable with the workforce and head count we have here at Hethel."

Matt Sanger from Zenos Cars has already benefitted from the expertise at Hethel to produce cars at the site.

"We don't clash with Lotus Cars; it's a very complimentary relationship," he said.

"The skills and the facilities on site means we can benefit from that without having to spend huge amounts of investment."

The hub was officially opened by the Minister for Industry Chris McDonald.

He said: "The UK has been a leader in performance automotive and this centre will really be at the heart of that for the future."

He hoped the UK could increase vehicle production to 1.3 million a year. In 2025, the figure had fallen to 764,715 — the lowest level since 1952.

McDonald said: "There is £4bn of investment in research and innovation for the automotive industry as well and all that is available to Lotus and the rest of the UK manufacturers to really underpin our supply chain, give them the confidence to invest and make sure we get lots of British cars like this around the world."

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