Operations
Presently organised as Group Lotus plc, it is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.
As well as sports car manufacture, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspension—for other car manufacturers. Lotus' powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn cars. The US Lotus Elise and Exige models used the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS which is no longer available new. The new Exige has the same V6 as the Evora and is not available in US as a road legal vehicle.
Michael Kimberley took over as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006. He chaired the Executive Committee of Lotus Group International Limited ("LGIL") established in February 2006, with Syed Zainal Abidin (Managing Director of Proton Holdings Berhad) and Badrul Feisal (non-executive director of Proton Holdings Berhad). LGIL is the holding company of Lotus Group Plc.
Kimberley retired as CEO on 17 July 2009, replaced on 1 October 2009 by the former Senior Vice President for Commercial & Brand at Ferrari, Dany Bahar. Bahar intended to drive the brand up-market in to the expanding global luxury goods sector, effectively away from the companies traditional light weight and pure driving experience simplicity.
Bahar was suspended as CEO on 25 May 2012 on a temporary basis, while an investigation into his conduct was undertaken. Lotus announced on 7 June 2012 the termination of Bahar's employment, and the appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new Chief Operating Officer.
Read more about this topic: Lotus Cars
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