Lotus wants its UK dealer network to grow to 30 outlets

These are pivotal times for Lotus, the Norfolk-based sports car company that celebrated its 70th anniversary last year. It is currently embarked on a decade-long strategy, Lotus Vision 80, to determine what the business will look like by the time it reaches its 80th anniversary in 2028.

Plans include a widespread transformation of the business that will bring new models, expansion into other market sectors aimed at dramatically increasing volume, raising the profile of the brand globally, and increasing its dealer network around the world. A key part of that will see a projected growth in its homeland UK dealer base from the current 16 to 30.

Owned by Chinese multinational Geeley since 2017, once cash-strapped Lotus now has the financial stability of reliable investment behind it, and both Volvo and the London taxi manufacturer LEVC as sister companies with whom it can share technologies.

Over the past year there have been significant changes in senior management at Lotus, and one of the most recent recruits is Geoff Dowding as executive director, global sales and aftersales. Appointed to the role in April, he now has overall commercial management and development of the retail network.

He has arrived in the job at the peak of a 40 year automotive career that has included a variety of senior roles at Volkswagen, Nissan, Porsche, Harley-Davidson, and 18 years at Bentley. For the past four years he has run Al Habloor Motors, one of the largest automotive distributors in the United Arab Emirates.

Lotus’ current range comprises three model lines: Elise, Exige and Evora. Sales are modest, totalling 1,630 cars globally last year. A new all-electric hypercar, the Evija (pronounced Ev-e-ya), is currently undergoing high-speed testing.

What does all this mean for the UK dealer network? Expansion. Currently Lotus has key open points around the country, of which inner London and Birmingham are the two most important. “Birmingham is our number one priority. We have a number of people knocking on the door, including a couple of existing partners.

“We need to be well represented in at least the five major cities in the UK, as well as key metropolitan areas around the globe. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh are the main ones in the UK, and then there are about 25 other key locations including Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow.”

He says his time heading up a major dealership in the UAE taught him a huge amount about being in the thick of it. “Until you are a dealer yourself, at the retail sharp end, you don’t know it’s a different lifestyle. It’s so fast, so immediate and completely customer driven. It was great experience and it makes me empathetic, sympathetic.”

“We have a lot of private business owners who have invested in us as a brand. Because of my experience in the industry I can help the business here see things much more from a dealer perspective,” he said.

Currently there is a mix of UK dealers, mostly owner driven rather than PLCs. Many are integrated with a motorsport business, classic car business, restoration works or similar, and often family-owned.

He said that the passion and loyalty that exists within those businesses is “extraordinary”, and it’s the magic that keeps Lotus alive.

“We will see people who are currently with us wanting to remain, others wanting to go, and some new people wanting to be part of our journey,” he said.