Lotus Cars
Lotus logo (2019) | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | Colin Chapman |
| Headquarters | , England, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 6,970 units (2023) |
| Revenue | $679 million (2023) |
Number of employees | 1,385 (2021) |
| Parent | Geely Holding (51%) Etika Automotive (49%) |
| Website | lotuscars |
Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles.
Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is based in Hethel, Norfolk. Lotus Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: LOT), an all-electric lifestyle vehicle company, headquartered in Wuhan, China, and operates regional facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Additionally, Lotus Engineering, an engineering consultancy firm, is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) located at the University of Warwick's Wellesbourne Campus.
Lotus was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors, then Romano Artioli and then DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton, which owned Lotus from 1996 to 2017. Lotus is currently majority-owned by Chinese multinational Geely. Between 2017 and 2025, Lotus traded as Lotus NYO in China due to a trademark dispute with Youngman.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Notable Lotus cars include the Lotus Seven, the Elan, the Esprit and the Elise.