Lotus car sales hit decade high peak

Car brand Lotus is celebrating its highest sales for a decade. After years of struggling performance, 2021 global sales were their best since 2011.

Retailers sold 1,710 new Lotus cars in 2021, the same year three models - the Elise, Exige and Evora - ended production. That compares with 1,378 sales in 2020, an increase of 24 per cent. The Elise was the global top-seller as fans sought to secure a piece of automotive history via the premium Sport 240 Final Edition and the Cup 250 Final Edition models.

Sales performance was impressive across the globe. In Europe, the UK was up 29%, with Belgium the star performer up 37 per cent. North American retailers covering USA and Canada were up 111 per cent year-on-year, which was also their best performance in 10 years.

The car brand was founded by Colin Chapman in 1948, but has gained a reputation for financial volatility despite the elegance and technical excellence of the sports cars. Lotus is currently owned by Chinese multinational Geely, with Malaysia-based Etika Automotive as a substantial shareholder.

Records were broken in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan had its best year since 2015, Australia since 2018 and Hong Kong since 2014. Qatar, which has been selling Lotus since 2016, had its best year ever. Further evidence of the ongoing transformation of the business came in Bahrain, Thailand and New Zealand, where Lotus sold its first new cars for at least seven years.

Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, Lotus, commented:

“Our global retailers have risen to the challenge of giving the Elise, Exige and Evora the send-off they deserved. It means we’re in great shape for 2022 to focus on the all-new Lotus Emira, our last petrol-powered sports car and the best of breed.”

Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars, added: “In difficult circumstances our retailers have delivered what was asked of them and more. It’s testament to their hard work, and that of our manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution teams around the world. A huge thank you to everyone involved – what a way to move into the era of Emira.”

Lotus plans to switch to fully electric cars by 2028. Geely and Etika are providing £2 billion to fund the switchover. The Lotus Evija is the first all-electric British hypercar.

Lotus Top 10 Global Markets

1 USA

2 Japan

3 UK

4 Germany

5 France

6 Italy

7 Australia

8 Belgium

9 Switzerland

10 China