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Written by Ollie Kew
"We launched Evora 400 in August in the US. It"s now October, we have 300 orders, and have sold out production until March 2017".Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales is maintaining his trademark understatement and businesslike, matter-of-fact tone. But there"s the slightest note of satisfied joy in his voice. Lotus is on the up.Ex-Mercedes and Peugeot marketing boss Gales took over at Lotus in 2013. Status: dire, after the infamous five-car Dany Bahar-led plan nosedived.Strategy? Revitalise and broaden the current family of cars, make a profit by 2016, and generate enough cash to launch fresh products in 2020. Top of the list: an SUV, and at last an all-new Elise. Alternatively, Lotus would flounder and possibly disappear for good.Three years later, Gales has delivered on his word. We"ve had faster, lighter Sport versions of Elise, Exige and Evora, and not a moment too soon, federalised US sales of the Evora 400."We are delivering 50 cars a month in the US", Jean-Marc confirms proudly. "We"ve been cash-flow positive since August [2016], and we are now turning a profit." He allows himself a brief grin. "With this money, we can afford our future product developments."How"s the mooted SUV coming along? "We are making progress", says Gales candidly. "There will be a prototype running by the end of this year, but I can"t tell you much more than that."
Date written: 31 Oct 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5613
"We launched Evora 400 in August in the US. It"s now October, we have 300 orders, and have sold out production until March 2017".Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales is maintaining his trademark understatement and businesslike, matter-of-fact tone. But there"s the slightest note of satisfied joy in his voice. Lotus is on the up.Ex-Mercedes and Peugeot marketing boss Gales took over at Lotus in 2013. Status: dire, after the infamous five-car Dany Bahar-led plan nosedived.Strategy? Revitalise and broaden the current family of cars, make a profit by 2016, and generate enough cash to launch fresh products in 2020. Top of the list: an SUV, and at last an all-new Elise. Alternatively, Lotus would flounder and possibly disappear for good.Three years later, Gales has delivered on his word. We"ve had faster, lighter Sport versions of Elise, Exige and Evora, and not a moment too soon, federalised US sales of the Evora 400."We are delivering 50 cars a month in the US", Jean-Marc confirms proudly. "We"ve been cash-flow positive since August [2016], and we are now turning a profit." He allows himself a brief grin. "With this money, we can afford our future product developments."How"s the mooted SUV coming along? "We are making progress", says Gales candidly. "There will be a prototype running by the end of this year, but I can"t tell you much more than that."
Date written: 31 Oct 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5613
