Lotus in urgent talks with business secretary but has ‘no plans’ to shut Norfolk factory | Automotive industry

British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has an emergency negotiations with Lotus’ management because he insisted that he did not intend to close the British athlete producer Norfolk factory.

It was understood that the emergency meeting continued on Sunday morning. Reynolds contacted Lotus bosses and revealed that he was thinking of finishing the production of athletes in the UK and moving them to the United States – a movement that would endanger 1,300 work.

Lotus’s Chinese owner, Geely, was thought to be looking at options such as producing Emira sports car in the United States and stopping production permanently in Hethel, Norfolk.

Such a decision of a prestigious brand will be embarrassing for the government. Labor’s industrial strategy, released last week, chose the strategic sectors that he wanted to support automotive production.

In a statement on Saturday, Lotus insisted on the largest commercial market in the Lotus brand of England ”and the largest commercial market in Europe.

“Lotus Cars continue normal operations and do not have a plan to close the factory. We are actively investigating strategic options in order to increase productivity and provide global competitiveness in the developing market.”

Lotus paused his production at the Hethel Factory in mid -May to manage the stocks and supply chain problems caused by the US’s extra 25% tariffs in car imports.

Other British automobile manufacturers stopped exports to the United States, but since then it has continued and expects a UK-US trade agreement on May 8th. On Monday, US tariffs are expected to be reduced to 10%.

Lotus has the capacity to produce 5,000 Emira Sports Cars annually with a starting price of £ 75,000 in the Norfolk factory. Approximately 60% of them are sent to the USA. In addition, it makes an electric hyper car on the site with smaller numbers, which is priced by £ 2.3 million.

I Goldsborough, Southern Norfolk Workers Deputy, He said on Facebook He was “deeply worried about the rumors surrounding the potential closure of Lotus’s Hethel facility.

Authorized, the management team and the government ministers, “To emphasize how vital this site is-not only the British automotive engineering heritage, not the so-called Hethel HOME, the local economy and skilled labor force confirmed the seriousness of the situation,” he said.

Qingfeng Feng, General Manager of Lotus Technology, said investors are trying to shift the production of the company to the United States this week.

“We are currently discussing localization plans with our strategic partners in the United States to prevent the impact of the US tariff with our strategic partners in the US. “With our strategic partners, we had a depth discussion about our US view and we believe that localization is an applicable plan.”