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Lotus has his reverse To end up plans Car production in Great Britain after the government has signaled that it supports the fighting British sports car brand.
In an explanation on Saturday, lotuswhich is checked by the Chinese car manufacturer Geelysaid it was “actively examined strategic options” to improve the efficiency of its business and global competitiveness.
“Lotus Cars continues normal operation and there are no plans to close the factory,” it said.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the company was planning to hire the production in his work in Hethel in Norfolk and to have endangered 1,300 jobs.
Two people with knowledge of the situation said that the British government officials contacted Lotus and Geely executives shortly after the publication of the report. “Everyone has just panicked,” said one of the people.
The British Minister of Busy Jonathan Reynolds is expected to speak to Lotus on Sunday, said one person near the government.
A government spokesman said: “The government does not comment on speculation or the commercial affairs of private companies.”
Geely rejected a statement.
A closure of the Hethel -Werk would have made a new blow to British car production after Honda and Ford closings.
To increase the automotive and other advanced production minister Sir Keir Starrer Industrial strategy.
On Friday, Lotus said that from mid-May from mid-May the production in Great Britain to manage warehousing and supply chain problems in connection with US tariffs after the shipments of its Emira sports car was carried out to the United States.
However, people with knowledge of the discussions said that the company had difficulty paying its suppliers in the past few weeks, and it suffered pressure from a low vehicle demand and increasing inventory, which put pressure on the Hethhel plant in Great Britain and the work in Geely ownership in Wuhan, China, which puts Lotus cars under pressure.
“You have problems that are deeper than the US tariff problem,” said one person near the company.
Lotus did not immediately answer an FT request for comment.
Feng Qingfeng, Managing Director of US Lotus technology, which has a controlling participation in the British business. told the leading managers at the beginning of this week To create a proposal for the production in Great Britain. He also told investors that Lotus wanted to localize production in the USA.
Lotus has shortened work in recent years, while a number of leaders have gone, including the European boss Dan Balmer and Chief Commercial Officer Mike Johnson.
In the three months to June, Lotus Technology reported a loss of $ 103 million compared to a loss of $ 233 million in the previous year, while delivering 1,274 vehicles, a decrease of 42 percent.
Hethel -Werk, founded in 1966, has an annual capacity of around 10,000 cars, while its work in Wuhan can produce around 150,000 vehicles.
