So it’s come to this: Lotus mulls Hethel closure

Are you sitting down? Well, don’t worry: this won’t come as a shock if you’ve kept even one eye on Lotus’s recent history. According to internal sources, the firm is seriously weighing the closure of its UK headquarters – the factory it has occupied since 1966 – and moving all future sports car production abroad, potentially to the United States. If Geely, its majority owner, took that decision, it’s thought it would threaten the livelihoods of around 1,300 workers. 

Media reports suggest Lotus’s UK employees have not been told of the plans, though on the basis that Hethel has not produced any cars for around six weeks – a pause said to have been triggered by the introduction of US tariffs – and have already been through several rounds of redundancies, they will doubtless be aware of the wider situation. Particularly as Lotus’s most recent quarterly report (released earlier on Friday) suggested that total customer deliveries had decreased by 42 per cent compared to last year. 

While the halt in manufacturing and associated supply issues were said to have affected its results, clearly Lotus cannot sustain itself on 1,274 cars sold. Moreover, subsequent reports that the company was considering plug-in hybrid technology for the Emira suggested a company becoming completely unmoored from reality (ditto earlier suggestions that a V8 would be a viable replacement for the Toyota-sourced V6). These predictions returned to earth with a bump when the Financial Times reported late on Friday that Lotus was seriously reviewing the future of Hethel as a production facility, with a view to closing it as soon as next year. 

Though disappointing (an understatement) and obviously distressing for its staff, this eventuality has likely been under consideration for some time given Hethel plays little to no part in the manufacturing of the high-powered EVs that are considered the cornerstone of Lotus’s future. Speculation that the Emira production line may be relocated to the US is also best considered with a grain of salt to hand. The strategy was apparently pitched as a ‘feasible plan’ by chief executive Qingfeng Feng on a call to investors, although it’s hard to see how the numbers currently justify the cost of transition, even as a means to avoiding the impact of tariffs. 

Particularly when you consider that these are due to drop to 10 per cent on Monday as part of the UK’s new trade agreement with the US. In previous months, Lotus has reiterated its commitment to Hethel, a location that was considered ‘part of our DNA’, and attempted to frame previous job losses – the last round in April – as a restructuring effort that was ‘vital to enhance our competitiveness’. It has thus far refused to comment on the most recent reports that point toward a completely different direction. 

For now, there is no indication that a final decision has been made – and it is certainly true that carmakers frequently reassess the suitability of their manufacturing footprint. Clearly though, the factory’s closure would be a tragic loss to the British car industry – and for what it’s worth Geely would do well to consider that without Hethel, without a dedicated UK workforce, and without a human and material thread connecting present to past, Lotus would effectively cease to exist as a sports car maker. Or at any rate, it would contain nothing of value to appeal to the buyers who have bought into its expertise and unique ethos over the preceding seven decades. Let’s hope that writing isn’t already on the wall.