Lotus boss calls for UK government support as it commits to Norfolk plant

The boss of the luxury sports carmaker Lotus has called for government support for its UK factory as the Chinese-owned company insisted it will not abandon its British roots. Lotus said it had extended the lifespan of the £80,000 Emira petrol-engined sports car, made by 900 employees in its factory in Norfolk, in order for the brand to continue to serve the US market. Lotus last year prompted concerns for the future of its British factory, after sources said its Chinese parent company, Geely, was considering its closure . Lotus then cut 550 jobs in August . However, Lotus on Tuesday said it wanted to increase sales in the lucrative US market, meaning it will have to rely on sports car sales from its UK factory rather than electric SUVs from its newer, larger facility in Wuhan, China, which faces prohibitive tariffs. “We definitely want to keep the [Norfolk] factory going and we definitely want it to be better, to grow,” said the Lotus chief executive, Qingfeng Feng. “We are actively discussing with the government, and it is not just on financial subsidies,” he said, referring also to infrastructure around the plant. He was speaking through a translator on the sidelines of a Financial Times conference. The carmaker also said it would sell new Chinese-made hybrid SUVs in Europe and make a new hybrid-V8 petrol supercar, the Type 135, as part of a strategy “reset”. …