Lotus Suggests Access To Geely Platforms Could Help It Build An SUV

BY Brad Anderson | Posted on

Talk of a potential Lotus SUV is nothing new, as in 2018, former Lotus chief executive Jean-Marc Gales confirmed such a vehicle was on the way.

With Geely now taking a controlling stake in Lotus and investing heavily in the brand, the company has a new CEO: former Jaguar Land Rover executive Phil Popham. Under new ownership and leadership, Lotus has confirmed it will unveil an all-new sports car towards the end of 2020.

When quizzed about the rumored SUV during a recent interview with Auto News, Popham kept his cards close to his chest and wouldn’t say whether or not work on such a vehicle is ongoing. However, Popham did suggest that Lotus can expand beyond the production of sports cars.

Porsche SUVs should watch out

“We’re a sports-car brand. The focus of the brand is around the driver and the driving experience. That’s what the DNA of Lotus is. However, we believe the brand has the potential to go beyond just sports cars. We will move into other segments over the course of time. We have a great opportunity to work within the Geely group with its engineering capabilities.

“We can walk into the group and look on the shelves and pay to use some of the resources and technology there. That would enable us to go beyond just sports cars in the future,” Popham said.

Thanks to having access to Geely tech, Lotus has a number SUV platforms at its disposal, namely those used by the Volvo and Lynk & Co brands. Popham said that if Lotus were to use one of these existing platforms, it would be sure to work its handling magic on it.

“We haven’t determined what those platforms are yet, but as we do, we would never just take a platform or an architecture and stick a Lotus badge on it. It would have to be a collaboration that protects the requirements of Lotus driving dynamics and performance.”

Note: Rumored Lotus SUV patents pictured

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